Poison
by Aleina Tempest
Summary: Emma is poisoned and under the care of Regina. While the poison runs it course, both Emma and Regina fight the feelings conspiring between them. Conflicted with the reality of what the poison can do, Regina must decide carefully how to proceed. RATED M for many reasons. SQ to develop over time.
1. Moonshine

**Authors Note: Okay...before you start reading: I haven't picked a particular point in story line to begin this fic. The curse is still enacted so no one knows they are fairytale characters(except for Regina, of course). I haven't decided on a definite direction for this fic so any suggestions will be taken into consideration. There will be lots of SwanQueen action in the future, worry not :)**

**Read and review 3333**

**And of course, I don't own the characters or anything Once Upon A Time related, I just like to play with them.**

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**Chapter One: Moonshine**

Gentle waves collided softly with the old barnacled wood of pier at the furthermost end of the harbor. Watching the subtle waves of the collision trickle away from the wood with mild interest, Emma sat there, feet dangling over the edge of the pier, consumed with the melody playing through her headphones. A salted breeze blew past her, causing some loose hairs to swipe across her neck and face producing an irritating tickling sensation that reminded her of little spiders crawling across her skin. Emma tried to push the thought from her mind as she looked out at the dark expanse of water in front of her.

The music playing in her headphones was loud enough to drown out the eerie silence of the harbor at this hour of night. No gulls, no motors running, no people chattering. The only sounds outside of her headphones were those of creaking wooden bows of the few docked ships swaying side to side; dancing in perfect harmony with the lulling waves.

_"I lost my heart, my home is the ocean_

_The waves underneath will soon be my home._

_I will fall asleep._

_I'll close my eyes and dream of days when I wasn't all alone."_

Emma practically snickered aloud. _Days when I wasn't all alone? When was that?_ she asked her inwardly. She'd always been alone. From the time she was an infant, abandoned on the side of the highway. Even now, surrounded by an eclectic array of small-town folk who seemed to like her, Emma still felt alone. These people all saw so much good in her and the more she tried to insist she wasn't the person they think she is, the more they tried to convince her otherwise.

And while some people may find that comforting, to Emma, it was nothing more than a nuisance. These people have no idea what she went through, the things she's done, the shame her name brings. On some days it was easy enough to ignore their sentiments; to smile and play along. Other days, Emma wanted nothing more than to choke the life out of the next person unfortunate enough to tell her that she was a good person.

Diverting her attention from the water in favor of unscrewing the cap from the small bottle at her side, Emma took a generous swallow of liquor. She smacked her lips together and screwed up her eyebrows in concentration trying to discern whether she liked the peculiar taste on her tongue. But then she just shrugged and took another drink, deciding that it didn't really matter.

_"All that I know is gone._

_Take what is left of me now._

_All that I know is gone._

_Take what is left of me._

_Fall deeper and deeper, the sirens are singing your songs."_

Even with the comforting warmth provided by the bottle now nestled between her thighs, the light material of her black zip-up jacket was doing little to protect her skin from the chilling bite of the wind. Emma shivered violently and pulled the jacket tighter around her small frame. She thought for a moment on phoning Mary Margaret and asking for a ride back to the tattered loft they shared but quickly decided against it.

Mary Margaret and Ruby had practically dragged Emma from her bedroom earlier this evening and insisted that she come out to the bar for a few drinks; a girls night. Emma was adamant in expressing her desire to do no such thing, preferring to laze about in bed and enjoy her bottle of whiskey alone. But it seemed her two closest friends in Storybrooke had no inclination to accept her polite refusal.

With a scowl apparent, Emma pulled herself off the bed and searched through the piles of disarray in attempt to find something decent to wear to the bar. Amidst the piles of clothes and boxes lining the room, Emma decided on simple pair of dark blue skinnies, a nondescript black tank-top that covered much of her chest and back, and a pair of knee high black boots. She quickly ran a comb through her messy blonde hair and sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Feeling much like Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries, Emma laughed and remembered what the young actress had said when looking at herself in the mirror:

"As always, this is as good as it's going to get"

After about an hour and a half sitting in the dim atmosphere of The Rabbit Hole, Emma apologized to her friends and said that she wasn't feeling well and she wanted to go home to get some sleep. Ruby and Mary Margaret – both of whom seemed to be having a great time – prepared themselves to leave but Emma insisted they stay and enjoy their evening and promising to have another girls night soon.

Emma sighed, preparing herself for the long walk back from the docks to her shared apartment.

"_I'll miss my breath, there's no more left._

_I'll miss the sound of the wind at my back._

_The depths have a number, they call you by name_

_Fall asleep, Davy Jones calls you._

_So fall asleep, fall asleep and dream."_

Taking a last gulp out of her bottle, Emma squeezed the pint into the pocket of her jacket and unceremoniously stood up on the bowing planks of the dock. With a last glance up at the pale moon, Emma closed her eyes – wishing silently for something, though she didn't know exactly what she was wishing for. She turned on her heel and yet out a little yelp and stumbled backwards.

A quick hand shot out instinctively grabbing her wrist before Emma's lack of grace caused her to tumble into the cold waters of Maine. Emma ripped the headphones from her ear and placed a hand over her frantically thumping heart.

"What the hell!?" Emma yelled, sounding a little more panic-stricken than she had intended. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack!?" Emma's body was slowly coming down off of it's adrenaline high when her fight-or-flight instinct kicked in and her stance relaxed into a more casual position.

"I assure you Miss Swan, that was hardly my intention," the Mayor spoke trying – but not very hard – to hide her amusement at the Sheriffs reaction. Regina's lips were all too telling of her enjoyment, curled in a sinister smiled. A gesture that did not go unnoticed by the Sheriff.

"Yeah okay, so what was your intention?" Emma questioned, willing her green eyes to look piercing and cold. She crossed her arms over her chest and shifted the bulk of her weight to her right leg.

Regina smirked, returning her previously extended gloved hand back in front of her, clasping the other, and took an authoritative step towards Emma, not allowing her gaze to fall from the younger woman's for a second.

"I received an anonymous call regarding a trespassing and public intoxication claim at the docks. Imagine my surprise when I couldn't get ahold of our incompetent Sheriff. It didn't take long to put the pieces together, dear." Regina's voice filled the expanse existing between herself and the guarded blonde standing perilously close to the edge of the pier.

Emma highly doubted that the call was anonymous and she would just love to know who called the Mayor to tell on the Shrriff but decided that at the moment, it wasn't all that important. Then, come to think of it, all of the Mayor's baiting remarks weren't really that important either so Emma resigned herself to a shrug of her shoulders.

"Yeah, it'd be just dreadful if the Sheriff – who you happen to despise so much – drowned in the harbor," Emma rolled her eyes and uncrossed her arms to hang them loosely by her sides. The thick sarcasm in her words caused the Mayor to smirk in a most salacious way.

The ghosting quality of light raining over the Mayor's imperatively regal frame bathed her skin in an inexplicably serene manner. Moonlit shadows playing across the Mayor's face made her look akin to an innocent child and paradoxically, more powerful than Emma had ever witnessed.

"While the thought of you drowning is ideal, it is not in my best interest...at the time, Miss Swan." Regina explained with all the tact of a politician. She took a hand and gestured for the Sheriff to vacate the pier before her.

Emma raised an eyebrow at the odd behavior exhibited by Regina. Typically, Regina would stalk away and expect that she be followed; she never invited some to precede her during an exit.

"Well I'm touched by the fact that you'll allow me to live another day, Madame Mayor," Emma quipped before attempting to take a step forward but swaying into the thick pillar to her left as she shifted her weight once more. Emma braced herself against the pillar and slammed her eyes shut. Her head was spinning at a nauseating rate that didn't slow even with her eyes clamped shut. The muscles in her legs trembled and seemed to degrade themselves to the structural integrity of putty. Emma grasped the pillar with all the strength in her arms, attempting to keep herself from falling. Or puking. Both, possibly.

"Miss Swan?" Regina asked, momentarily considering just leaving the drunken wretch to whatever Fate has in store for her. She could ask Sydney to run it as a tragic story about the town's Sheriff drowning after consuming too much alcohol. Her cruel thoughts were interrupted by Emma's low, almost guttural calling of her name.

Emma was now on her hands and knees, head hanging over the edge of the pier, chest rising and falling heavily. Regina took a tentative step forward. She'd seen people wasted before but not like this. Not since…

She watched from a few steps away as Emma, in what seemed to be a fit of taciturn rage, ripped the jacket from her body and cast it behind her.

Emma was hot. Burning up, precisely. She felt sweat beading on every part of her skin. Her head was spinning out of control, chest heaving uncontrollably, and blood feeling like it was boiling beneath her skin.

"Regina…" Emma's pained voice came again. It was low, almost inaudible.

Regina stalked to stand beside the crumpled Sheriff and looked down on her with disdain.

"Have a bit too much to drink tonight, Sheriff?" Regina asked in a condescending tone. And although she could see the sweat glistening on the pale plains of the Sheriff's shoulder blades, she ignored it, refusing to accept the very obvious ailment inflicting the young blonde.

"No, damn it, just…ah!" The Sheriff's sentence was broken by a cry of pain as her clamped her hands to either side of her head in a vain attempt to stop the incessant spinning.

"From my view, I'm inclined to disagree with you, dear." The Mayor scorned her once more.

"Just…two beers…and that," Emma managed between labored breaths. Regina's eyes followed in the direction Emma's hand was pointed. To her jacket that was previously discarded. "Make it stop!" Emma screamed.

Expensive, designer shoes tapped against the wood of the pier over to where Emma's jacket was lying desolate and, until now, forgotten. She picked it up and frowned in distaste as she held the cheap garment between her thumb and forefinger as if she were afraid of getting an horrendous venereal disease from simply touching the item.

Regina took her spare hand and searched through the pockets, successfully locating the Sheriff's cell phone which she slipped into one of her own pockets, and a small glass bottle. Her mouth went dry as her eyes focused on the label shining in the glow of the moon.

"Damn it, Jefferson." She exhaled and shoved the bottle into one of her other pockets. Regina stalked back over to Emma's trembling form with a little more urgency than when she had walked away. She knelt down closer to Emma.

"Listen to me Miss Swan. We need to get out of here. Come, stand up." Regina instructed in an authoritative manner before returning herself to a standing position. After waiting only a few seconds and receiving no inclination to cooperate from Emma, Regina clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Anytime now Miss Swan," Regina goaded her.

Emma struggled to concentrate. The world was still spinning at a ridiculous pace and her limbs were less than eager to comply with her wishes. _Come on, Swan. Just get up. You've been drunk – hell plastered – before. Get your sorry ass up!_ Emma attempted to talk herself out of the brain-numbing drunken stupor but had little success.

"I can't!" Emma yelled in exasperation. _Way to make a good impression in front of the Mayor, Swan. _"Everything's…"

"…Spinning. Yes, I know Miss Swan." Regina spoke in a lower, calmer tone.

"Huh?" Emma's dumbfounded response escaped her lips before she could even stop it.

"I'll explain later, dear." Regina said hastily. "Right now, we need to go."

With that, Regina resigned herself to helping the Sheriff climb to her feet. The task proved much harder than she thought it would be. The blonde woman seemed to have no control over her legs, or the rest of her body, making it an arduous task to hoist the Sheriff to a standing position. After a moment of struggling, Regina finally positioned the blonde to a – hopefully – manageable stature.

Going against everything her mind was saying, Regina forced Emma's right arm around her neck for support as the former wrapped her left arm tightly around the Sheriff's thin waist, shucking her up multiple times before even taking a step. Every part of the Evil Queen in her screamed at Regina to just leave Emma on the dock. But being all too familiar with Emma's plight, Regina suppressed her evil thoughts and struggled to keep the dead weight of the Sheriff at her side.

"For the love of – Miss Swan, could you at least _try_ to walk," Regina scolded her.

The slow, painful journey from the dock to the Mayor's Mercedes was becoming physically exhausting. Not being used to such manual labor, Regina felt her muscles burning under the stress of carrying the additional weight of the Sheriff.

Emma said nothing, but attempted to clear her mind enough to move her legs as they normally should. She doubted her effort was noticed by the Mayor. With her arm wrapped tightly around her neck, as if holding on for dear life, Emma opened her eyes and turned her head to the right to look at Regina. She saw the Mayor's normally full lips pressed into a tight line as she struggled to carry Emma alongside her.

When the strange duo finally reached the Mayor's car, Emma was unloaded rather roughly into the passenger seat and seconds later, Regina herself climbed into the drivers seat. Emma's head lolled to the left to look at Regina once more.

"Honestly, Miss Swan, perhaps you should try a salad instead of grease-sodden burgers for a change." Regina huffed in irritation, still out of breath. She could feel Emma's eyes on her, but refused to acknowledge the despicable blonde slouching in the seat to her right.

"Are…you..did you just call me fat?" Emma slurred the words in a childish tone. A wide-eyed smile crept on her lips and she bust out in a fit of laughter.

Regina rolled her eyes and turned the key in the ignition trying to figure out what to do next. As the car started rolling away from the harbor, Emma had finally gotten her giggling fit under control.

"Hey."

Silence.

"Hey!" Emma poked Regina in the side.

A swat at her hand and silence.

"Madame Mayor!" Emma cried like a petulant child.

"Miss Swan?" Regina replied in annoyance.

"You have pretty hair."


	2. Decisions, Decisions

**Authors Note: Okay, so here's the second chapter. I fear that I haven't written Regina very well but it's been a little difficult since Emma isn't her normal self either. Thoughts would be great :)**

**Read and review 3333**

**As always, I don't own any Once Upon A Time related. **

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**Chapter Two: Decisions, Decisions**

The car came to a swift stop and Regina turned off the engine waiting to see the slight man emerge from the backdoor of his shop. During the short drive, Emma had busted out into fits of laughter over the smallest things. Regina knew that the Sheriff's newfound euphoria wouldn't last long, though she desperately hoped it would last long enough to get an antidote from Gold and drop the blonde nuisance at Mary Margaret's door.

She tapped her fingers – sheathed in tight leather driving gloves – on the steering wheel attempting to quell her impatience with Mr. Gold. She had phoned him immediately after leaving the vicinity of the docks explaining that she had an emergency and needed to see him right away. Seeing as it was after hours, Gold reluctantly agreed but insisted she come to the rear door.

"So, Madame Mayor, you're fond of leather…just not mine?" Emma asked with her forehead pressed firmly against the glass pane of the window.

Regina pursed her plump lips in distaste. "Miss Swan, I do hope you'll be cleaning your grease prints off of my windows."

Emma feigned a look of hurt and brought her hand to her chest. "Guess it's from all those 'grease-sodden' burgers I eat," Emma retaliated and started giggling once more. "Oh! Can we get one?"

"I think not, dear. I'd rather not watch that carnal feast, let alone partake in it."

Regina spied Mr. Gold exiting from the backdoor of his shop upon noticing her car, he began the descent down the narrow sidewalk.

"Miss Swan, I expect that you'll do as I say and wait here?" Regina questioned in her typical manner. In response, Emma brought her hand to her forehead and did a sloppy solute before resting her head against the window once more. Sighing, but admitting the blonde's action for an affirmation of understanding, Regina exited the car and met Mr. Gold halfway down the narrow sidewalk.

"Ahh, Mayor Mills, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Mr. Gold asked with a smile. The soft streetlights glared off of the old pawnbrokers golden tooth as he stood, both hands rested on the cane in front of him.

"Jefferson," Regina stated, pulling the pint from her pocket and showing it to Gold. The label was a shoddy, hand drawn design depicting a variety of mushrooms and fantastical creatures. Running through the center of the mural, in large, block-like letters were the words 'The Wonder Land'.

"I was under the impression that we had this little…situation cleared up many years ago. But this appears not to be the case any longer," Mr. Gold spoke as he reminisced on the pleasure he had taken in destroying the mad man's basement distillery.

"As did I, Mr. Gold. However, it seems our good friend Jefferson is back to his old antics. I will deal with him later, as for now, I need the antidote." Regina spoke, quickly getting to the point of her late night call.

"Well now sorry to disappoint you dearie, but I'm afraid I haven't got the antidote," Mr. Gold sighed with feigned contriteness.

Regina scowled at the old man, knowing all too well that he was smart enough to collect the antidote before destroying Jefferson's little chemistry set so many years ago.

"Mr. Gold, I warn you, I am in no mood for your games. Give me the antidote. I know you'll have a price that I assure you, I can pay." Regina tried once more with force. She narrowed her eyes and stepped precariously into Gold's personal space.

"And just who is that has been unfortunate enough to drink this?" Mr. Gold asked with natural curiosity. After a moments hesitation, Regina gave in, under the impression that the more information Gold had, the more inclined he would be to offer his assistance. She also knew, that the amount of information given to Gold could be a hindrance more than help.

"Miss Swan," Regina spat through gritted teeth.

"Oh, dearie dear," Mr. Gold started. A pleased smile was plastered to his slightly wrinkled face exaggerated immensely by the dull lighting of the street lights. "Now why would you be interested in an antidote for her?"

"That, Mr. Gold, is none of your concern," Regina warned him.

"True as that may be Mayor Mills, I still do not have the antidote you require."

Regina frowned, not entirely convinced that Gold was telling the truth. But her aching muscles and the beginning of a head-splitting ache kept her from pushing the situation any further. She desperately wanted to be rid of the Sheriff, that much was true. However, the poison running through her system was incredibly potent made from herbs and plants not from this world – or hers.

"Fine. Then I suppose you'll have no problem baby-sitting her while the poison runs it's course?" Regina questioned. Hoping that Gold would rather relinquish his antidote than have to look after a poisoned pain in the ass of a girl.

"Oh, no dearie, I fear I am ill-equipped for this line of work. I'm a collector, not a doctor." Mr. Gold responded pleasantly with that sickening smile Regina has become so accustomed to seeing plaster on his two-timing face.

"And you are under the false impression that I am equipped to handle this?" Regina threw up her hands in exasperation. _Hell no. HELL NO!_

Mr. Gold thought on this for a moment. True; he knew all too well what the effects of the poison could do to someone. How it can drive a person mad, how their emotions become so incredibly exaggerated that controlling them becomes next to impossible; all of their emotions. True; he also knew how detrimental it could be for all that Regina had built here in Storybrooke. And he was fairly certain that Regina knew the risks as well.

"On the contrary, dearie. You happen to be the one person in this town capable of handling this little…mess."

"Like hell I will be doing anything of the sort!"

"Then why not just leave her where she was?" Gold inquired.

Regina frowned. "You know that I can't do that." Her voice was dangerously low.

"Everyone has a choice Madame Mayor. And if you wish for your little situation to remain uncompromised, then I'd suggest you choose the lesser of two evils here. If there's nothing else you needed, I bid you goodnight, Regina." Gold spoke and turned on his heal, walking with his lopsided gait back to the rear entrance of his shop.

Regina was left standing, fuming with anger, on the narrow walkway between his door and the street. Her gloved hands were trembling; whether from rage or the stark realization of spending the next few days with the irksome blonde, she was unsure. She sauntered back to the car and lowered herself with as much grace as her aching legs and back would allow. At first glance, the blonde seemed to be sleeping peacefully in the seat next to her, but as she leaned forward to get a better view of Emma's face, she saw that her eyes were wide open, staring at the floor of her Mercedes.

"Miss Swan?" she questioned. Wanting – but not allowing herself – to place a hand to the younger woman's arm as a reassuring measure.

Emma slowly looked up at the Mayor's stern face, hidden by a veil of well-coiffed brunette hair, casting her eyes in complete shadow.

"It's so hot," Emma mumbled. It wasn't until after Emma had spoken those words did Regina see the thin sheet of perspiration coating every visible inch of the blondes alabaster skin. Green eyes, normally so full of fire and life, were gazing at Regina as though she were a stranger. So unlike their normal interactions, the Sheriff showed no signs of hostility towards Regina. There was something disconcerting about it. A battle of wits and one-upmanship is the one thing she could always count on with the blonde. And the vacancy of such normalcy was unsettling. Regina knew, that while the poison ravaged the blonde, she must be particularly careful of her actions.

Deciding not to say anything in response, Regina merely nodded and placed her key in the ignition, preparing to make the short drive back to her mansion.

Other than the overwhelming burning sensation, Emma had to admit, she was feeling pretty damn good. Especially now that her head had stopped spinning so viciously. She felt light, carefree, and in a much better mood than she had been previously. The beauty of the world that was typically lost on her was brought to life once more. Even under the faint light of the moon, Emma could see, literally see the colors of life around her. The trees swayed to a silent rhythm as the crickets and critters beneath sung their merry songs. The air seemed to shimmer and felt so much crisper when pulled into the depths of her lungs.

She barely recognized the scenery flying past her at light speed. Since the car had started moving once more, she felt like she was being sucked into vortex; everything passed by in a blur. It was enough to get her panicking. She looked at the woman in the drivers seat. Her brow was furrowed in a way she had never seen before. But her skin…it looked so damn soft. Like delicate china begging to be broken at the hands of some little kid. _I'd break that._ Emma snorted in laughter at her own inner musings. _Don't start, Swan. Don't go there._

"Something funny, Miss Swan?" Regina asked, bringing herself out of her own thoughts and looking down at the blonde. Shaking her head, Emma turned her head to look back out the window at the scenery passing her by at an incredible speed.

"Jesus – fuck – Regina, slow down!" Emma yelled then shielding her face as if she were expecting the front end of the car to make contact with something in front of her.

"Forgive me, Sheriff, but I don't think you're in any position to be giving me orders," Regina sniped, unaware of just how venomous her words sounded. "Besides, I'm going only just above the speed limit."

Emma unshielded her face and took a tentative glance out of the window, relieved that Regina's words seemed to bring a little bit of reality back to her. She then looked at the Mercedes' speedometer that did in fact read about 30mph. Then a prurient smile crept across her face.

"So then tell me, Madame Mayor, what's an acceptable position for you to take orders from me? Emma's voice was husky and her statement full of innuendos.

Regina's lip turned up slightly at the incredulous questioned posed by the Sheriff. She felt her hands grip the steering wheel tighter than necessary.

"Do not mistake my helping you for something it's not. Trust me when I say that I would have much rather left you there on the docks. But trust also, that if I were to do so, it would not be in my best interest, Miss Swan. Do not speak to me as if I were some tawdry woman at a bar. You would do well to remember that I am Mayor in this town, and you will treat me as such," Regina lectured the young Sheriff keeping her eyes glued firmly on the road in front of her as she slowed to pull the Mercedes into her own driveway.

Sensing, more than seeing, the car come to a stop, Emma pushed herself up in the seat and looked up at the mansion, then to Regina, then back to the mansion with a confusion plastered on her face.

"Pardon me, Madame Mayor, but could you please explain to me why we are here?" Emma questioned in attempt to sound uncharacteristically pretentious. Clearly, the Mayor was not impressed with her show.

"You'll be spending the next week here. Don't think, for even a second, that this permits you to interact with my son or that I have taken some sort of likening to you." Regina stated, cutting off the engine and collecting her purse from beneath Emma's feet, accidentally swiping her perfectly manicured fingers along the younger woman's calf as she groped in darkness for her purse.

"Right…so why are we here?" Emma asked again, still just as confused as she was a moment ago.

"Come inside, dear. I'll explain then."

"Hell no! I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why I'm here! Just take me home, I'll sleep this off, and have hell to pay tomorrow when I awake with a nasty hangover." Emma sounded desperate. Her mind was racing with all the possibilities that could bring the Mayor to have her staying for a week. But no matter what possibilities came to mind, none of them made any sense.

Since day one, Mayor Mills has been trying to run her out of town and make her look like a total failure. There is no logical reason that now – of all times when she was a drunken mess – that Regina would want her to stick around. And not just stick around as in 'around town'. But at her own place. The place where she so desperately attempted to conceal her son from her was living. It didn't make sense.

"You've been poisoned Miss Swan."

"Well for shits sake! Someone roofie'd me? The shit is that about!?" Emma yelled in an almost comical way. The gravity of the situation clearly escaping the blonde's grasp.

"No, dear, you weren't drugged. You were poisoned. Where I come from, there is a monumental difference between the two."

"I dunno about you, but I come from Boston, drugged and poisoned is totally the same thing." Emma chuckled.

"Miss Swan, I imagine by now that you've regained function of your body. I suggest that you come inside and I will explain everything." Regina snarled, this time exiting the car and leaving Emma no choice but to follow her.

Emma rolled her eyes and mimicked the words the Mayor had just uttered in a childlike manner. She followed the Mayor– quite unsteadily – to the front door, completely oblivious to the many quick glances back at her from the Mayor.

Regina unlocked her door with precision and ushered Emma up the grand staircase, berating her for dragging her boot-clad feet along the just polished wood.

Emma was guided into a small, but still magnificent room, next to Regina's master bedroom. The décor was simple, black and white like much of the Mayor's mansion and office. There was a large, queen sized bed with remarkably white sheets tucked tightly around it. The walls were plain and seeing as it were a guestroom, Emma could understand why. Standing quite uncomfortably in the lavish room, Emma resigned herself to merely looking around.

"Do make yourself at home, dear," Regina spoke as she watched Emma from the doorway. Something about the childish antics and uncharacteristic innocence displayed by the young woman was undoubtedly endearing. Repulsed by that line of thought, Regina shook her head swiftly and crossed the threshold into the room and watched as Emma let herself fall onto the bed and spread her limbs out wide.

"So, Regina, you never did tell me. I mean, I don't understand…why do I have to be here?" Emma questioned as her fingers drew tantalizing patterns on the comforting underneath her.

Regina walked over to the bed to stand above her.

"You had better prepare yourself for a wild week, Miss Swan."


	3. Without Warning

**Authors Note: My apologies to those whom I told that this chapter was going to be posted a few days ago. My boss is under the delusion that I'm supposed to do work at work. Who woulda thought? That, and classes have started up once more so I've found myself with very little time for my personal writing.**

**That being said..I'm not satisfied with chapter at all so please be kind with your criticisms. I'm hoping that this chapter will clear up a few things about the nature of Emma's poisoning. I'd just like to say that I'm totally awestruck by the amount of followers I've gotten with only two chapters posted...you guys rock!**

**And as always...I own nothing in regards to Once Upon A Time (unfortunately).**

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**Chapter Three: Without Warning**

"Is that a threat, Madame Mayor?" The blonde asked from her sprawled position on the bed.

Regina found herself wondering if the Sheriff's quite uncomfortable looking position was typical for the young woman. If so, she was bound to have back problems in the near future. She was lying, half on her side and half on her stomach, with her arms thrown out in a wide spread above her head.

Deciding to ignore the blonde's drollery, Regina just sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, feeling a little uncomfortable having the insouciant blonde lying so casually on her bed. It was an odd feeling. A feeling that Regina was sure would be a frequent visitor over the next week, though she desperately hoped against that little notion.

"How exactly did you come into possession of this?" Regina interrogated her, removing the bottle once more from her pocket and shoving it into the younger woman's face. Cocoa eyes studied the Sheriff's face, silently daring her to lie.

"Oh…well…hmm…" Emma began and furrowed her brows in deep concentration. She brought her thumb and forefinger to her chin, grabbing it as she thought through the haze in her mind. "Some guy gave it to me when I left the bar," she finally admitted with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.

"What did he look like?" Regina questioned firmly. A blank stare was her only response. "Well?"

Emma blinked her eyes rapidly before dopey looking smile parted those pretty pink lips.

"Hey, if you're playing Sheriff, can I play Mayor?" Emma giggled and forced herself to sit up on the bed, pointedly ignoring the glower from Regina. She scooted closer to Regina and attempted to keep her face as impassive as possible. "Hear ye hear ye, from this day forth I do decree that – "

"Do shut up, dear," Regina's snarky response was quick and decisive causing Emma to snap her mouth shut almost instantaneously with an audible click of her teeth.

Emma rolled her eyes and flopped backwards so that she was lying across the width of the bed with her knees bending over the edge of the mattress. Legs spread ever so slightly, but with her lithe frame, the gap between her thighs resembled the distance between San Francisco and Ocean City.

"Debbie downer," she mumbled under her breath.

"I'm sorry?" Regina asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger woman, turning her upper body slightly to look at her. Emma just shook her head indicating that she hadn't said anything but the guilty look on her face told Regina otherwise.

Regina felt her patience wearing thin. Dealing with the infuriating Sheriff on an average day was enough to make her blood boil but dealing with her now...well, it was even worse. If that was even possible. She already had a child, a child that she loved above all else. She sure as hell didn't need another one. A grown one that was idiotic enough to drink a concoction handed to her by a stranger on the streets. Though if she had to guess, this probably wasn't the first time the blonde stumbled into an unfortunate situation because of her lack of proper judgment. The demeaning thought brought a smirk of satisfaction to the Mayor's lips.

"He wore a hat," Emma's voice was quiet, barely audible. "A weird one. Like, the Monopoly guy." She mused and then seemed to become lost in her thoughts.

Regina thought for a moment about the mysterious Monopoly guy but her keen mind was quick to conjure up a picture of the little bald man on the box of one of Henry's favorite board games. She had already suspected that Jefferson was behind this, having dealt with this mess before, but now she knew for certain. She sighed.

Relief? _No, absolutely not._

"I'll deal with him tomorrow," Regina spoke adamantly.

"My savior!" Emma giggled and clasped her hands together, beating her eyelashes together like a jubilant child.

"Miss Swan, could you at least attempt to understand the severity of the situation you're in?" Regina growled irritably. Emma sat up on the edge of the bed once more, resting her forearms on her thighs and leaning forward slightly. Her blonde waves cascading down past her shoulders, shrouding her face in a blanket of golden tresses.

"Am I going to die?" Emma's voice was trembling. Green eyes looked at Regina with all the sadness of a puppy. "I don't want to die…" she trailed off.

"This particular poison will not kill you, no. It does much worse. It is a slow moving toxin, and judging by your size, it should take about a week to clear you system..." Regina trailed off, unsure of just how much information she should divulge the blonde with. Her face was sternly set as she looked straight ahead, not wanting to look at Emma. Not when she knew all too well the harrowing side effects of the poison.

"There's something worse than death?" Emma questioned. _The hell? What's worse than death? Double-death? _The normally confident posture the Sheriff exhibited was long gone. She slumped forward, wringing her hands in a nervous manner. Though she wasn't quite sure why she was so nervous. She supposed part of her was slightly worried about the poison but the euphoric haze in her mind denied her brain the ability to properly filter the fear she knew she should be feeling.

Then there was the other factor weighing heavily on her mind; much more heavily than the fact that a noxious poison was laying siege on her body.

Regina.

_What luck._ Emma scoffed in annoyance. _Of all people, of all fucking people...why the Mayor? _Wasn't it bad enough that perfect Regina already viewed her as an incompetent, immoral slob? _Way to put the icing on the cake, Swan._

"There are...many things worse than death, Sheriff."

The Mayor's lurid voice broke her inner-monologue. Emma turned her head to look at the sharply dressed woman sitting on the bed with impeccable posture; something that would be impossible for the younger woman to pull off. Emma shot an eyebrow up in question.

"Death is...easy. It's quick. It's permanent." Regina continued, sensing that the woman sitting next to her was practically begging for an explantino. She lowered her head further, still refusing to look at the young Sheriff. "Life - living, that is - is so much harder. To live, day in and day out consumed with pain, anger, regret..worry and uncertainty. To be tortured by the past and haunted by the future..."

"Way to be a buzz kill," Emma murmured before rolling her eyes. Regina looked as though she had been slapped. Her wide eyes blinked a couple times before setting themselves back to their accusatory glare. Rising from the bed with alien fluidity, Regina was standing above Emma once more, eyes narrowed and lip curled. A hand shot out and grabbed Emma's chin - none too gently - and yanked her head up with considerable force until Emma's clouded saccharine eyes were level with her own.

Emma gasped at the feeling of soft, but strong, fingers on her fevered skin. The only thing not pleasurable about the situation was the dull pain produced from french-manicured nails pressing into the sparse skin of her chin.

_Not pleasurable? Don't kid yourself, Swan._

"You listen to me, Miss Swan. In the next several days, you are going to see things and feel things that will make you _want_ to kill yourself." The Mayor's full lips were moving at a quick pace, yet effectively enunciating every syllable of her sentence. A quick jerk of her head to the right willed some errant strands of hair back into place. She brought herself closer, just mere inches from Emma's face.

"You will feel anger so intense, every muscle in your body will tighten to the point that it becomes so excruciatingly painful to even breathe. You will feel sadness so profound that you'll want to slice that pretty porcelain skin over and over, watching while the life bleeds out of you, and smiling because you think that this is the only way to rid yourself of soul-crushing depression," Regina snarled.

Emma was listening, well...she heard the words, but found herself focusing primarily on the cursory flashes of white behind sanguine lips. It was truly amazing how the Mayor was able to paint her lips so perfectly and never a smudge marred those flawless ivories.

It didn't take long for Regina to notice where the Emma's eyes had fallen. With an unnecessarily rough jerk of her hand, she cast Emma's head to the side before quickly putting some distance between them. As she stalked across the room to the large, but simple black-brown wooden dresser, adorned with a simple black-framed mirror above it, Regina crossed her arms in front of her chest. She struggled to continue her explanation of the poisons effect, almost hoping that if she just ignored it then maybe, just maybe, Emma wouldn't reach that point. The mind is a powerful instrument, capable of producing physical manifestations of mental thoughts.

Quantum mechanics?

Emma studied the Mayor's august profile as she stood primly in her most uncomfortable looking heels. Her face - what she could see of it at least - was strained with...apprehension? Discomfort? Annoyance? She couldn't be sure.

"So..." Emma started, trying to make sense of all that Regina said. And when no sense could be made from it, Emma surmised that the entire ordeal was simply...nonsensical. "I'm gonna get mad...and depressed? That's it?"

Regina's shoulders rose slowly and fell much faster as she breathed in a lung full of air and exhaled it quickly, her vexation with the blonde increasing with each passing second.

"Oh, no, dear...there's more." Regina smirked. And while she knew the poison was one most foul, she couldn't help but feel as though Emma's poisoning was a higher form of justice. Like Fate intervening on her behalf to punish those who had hurt her in the past. The best part? Her hands were completely clean in the matter. She was innocent; she couldn't be blamed in the least. This was not a malicious scheme forged from hatred. No planning. No deceit. Just pure, unadulterated innocence.

"Hallucinations," Regina all but blurted, finally turning to face the blonde again. She sauntered over to stand in front of Emma once more. "Can you imagine the inability to differentiate reality from fantasy every minute of the day? Can you grasp the fact that right now, at this very moment, you could be hallucinating?"

An awestruck Emma found the strength to raise herself from the bed. Slowly wobbling to stand directly in Regina's personal space, and looking like a new born calf as she did so, Emma gazed into chocolate eyes. And before she could stop herself, Emma raised a frail hand and ran it through the darker woman's coffee colored tresses.

The instant her nails grazed Regina's scalp, she swore she saw a light flicker behind those stonewalled eyes. Even if for a fleeting, infinitesimal second, Emma knew that the Mayor had a reaction to the contact.

"Tell me then, Madame Mayor, is this a hallucination?" Emma husked through hooded eyes. When the brunette failed to speak, Emma conjured the most seductive smirk Regina had ever seen on her face.

The Sheriff trailed a sharp-nailed finger down her jaw line ever so lightly until it grazed gently across her lower lip and finally came to rest upon her chin.

_Damn_.

Try as she might, Regina was unable to resist the natural reaction to lower her eyes to Emma's moist lips. It was only for the briefest second but Emma didn't miss the instantaneous change. Nor did she miss the way Regina's eyes widened in realization of her body's betrayal.

Regina cleared her throat and swallowed even despite the arid atmosphere of her mouth. She was completely baffled at how just one look, just one touch from the blonde caused her to stop in her tracks. The world seemed to pause, everything blurred, and it was just the two of them…alone.

_Nonsense._

And with that damning confirmation, Regina set her shoulders straight. One blink of her eyelids and avarice consumed her eyes once more. Taking a measured step backwards from the blonde, the Mayor composed herself.

"What in the world are you doing, Miss Swan?" she questioned, disgust dripping from her lips. Disenchantment spread across the blonde's face at Regina's question.

_The hell? Wasn't I just sitting…over there?_ Emma turned from Regina and looked towards the bed, then back to Regina again, eyes pleading to understand what in the hell just happened.

"I…uh…well...I," Emma stammered, trying to piece together the past minute in her mind. The last thing she remembered was Regina droning on about how terribly the poison would affect her and blah, blah, blah. But then...? Emma tried to recall every detail...

_Hadn't she come to me? She pulled me to my feet, brought me close to her…right?_

...and failed miserably.

"Oh shit."

"Oh shit indeed, dear."

"I'm sorry…I…I didn't know…"

Regina crossed her arms protectively in front of her chest before dismissing the blonde's worry with an elegant wave of her hand. Inwardly, Regina cursed.

_So much for hope._

"Are you still warm, Sheriff?" Regina surprised herself with the question. Since when did she care about anyone's comfort other than her own? Unfortunately, the question had already been asked and Emma nodded her head before sinking back onto the bed, a look of shame and disbelief plaguing her previously rapturous face.

Drawn closer to the younger woman – perhaps it was the sadness in her eyes or maybe the contrite expression emblazoned on her face - Regina extended a hand to her.

"Come, I'll draw you a cold bath. That should help. Afterwards, you would benefit from some rest." Regina instructed. Her tone, although commanding, was far from it's usual callousness.

Emma stared at the outstretched hand before her and chewed on the inside of her lip in contemplation, unsure if this was a palpable gesture or just one she'd conjured up in her mind. Not having an answer, Emma's head slumped downwards. She figured it was best not to act upon impulses – no matter how tempting they may be.

"Maybe…I should just go?" Emma whispered.

"I've always had my doubts about your intelligence Miss Swan and you've yet to persuade me otherwise."

"I just tried to fucking seduce you Regina. I mean, seriously?" Emma threw her hands up in frustration. "What the hell!?"

Sensing the emotions building in the blonde, Regina took her outstretched hand and placed it on one of Emma's in an attempt to help her reign in her emotions.

"Shh, dear, it's expected."

Her reassuring gesture did little to calm Emma's effervescent anxiety.

"How can you say that?" Emma demanded, staring furiously into the older woman's eyes. "I don't even know if this is real right now?"

Regina sighed. She wished it hadn't come to this. Not one to disclose personal information, Regina found herself torn. Tell Emma the truth? Sure, she could. And she could rest assured that the blonde would torture herself until the end of time wondering if it really was the truth. Or, she could keep it inside, locked away with the rest of her secrets and lie to the frazzled woman who was mere seconds away from melting down in front of her.

_She deserves the truth._

The Mayor frowned as this thought passed through her mind.

_Like hell she does._

"Emma…"

The blondes breath hitched in her throat when the sounds of her name passing through Regina's lips hit her ears. A genuflection the brunette didn't miss.

"How do you know all this? About the poison? Did you do this to me!?" Emma wailed. _Of course she must have…this was right up her alley. Henry was right about her. Fucking evil queen._ Panic washed upon her as if the floodgates of hell had just been released. Within seconds, her whole body was shaking with rage. Darkened eyes fell upon Regina's unguarded form.

The last thing Emma saw before blackness consumed her was a look of sheer terror on the Mayor's perfect fucking face.


	4. Battle Royale

**Author****s**** Note: Okay, seriously you guys are amazing. I never would've thought I'd receive the amount of feedback that I have. And with tbat being said, here is the next chapter. My apologies if it's a little dull, I unfortunately have to put school before this. Though, if I had it my way, you guys would be up to your necks in new chapters.**

**Reviews are always welcome :)**

**That aside, I'll make the claim that I always do: I own nothing Once Upon A Time related, I just like to have fun with some of the wonderful characters.**

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**Chapter Four: Battle Royale**

Right before the blonde launched herself from the bed, Regina saw a flicker of rage cloud her eyes. She watched as Emma's pupils dilated so quickly she was sure that the Sheriff's vision must have blurred for a brief second. And then she was on her like a jungle cat; leaping forwards and latching onto her shoulders with substantial strength while snarling at her the whole time. The force the younger woman used was so surprising that Regina faltered backwards and, in an act devoid of grace, tripped over her own feet, falling flat on her back with the lithe Sheriff falling directly on top of her.

The air was knocked from her lungs with enough force that Regina's vision blackened, but only fleetingly. The blonde, however, didn't seemed phased in the least. In fact, that damned smug smirk rested upon her contemptuous lips. Regina was on the floor, struggling to gain the upper hand but her attempts seemed futile as the Sheriff was clearly stronger, quicker, and more agile than she.

It wasn't until the Mayor stopped her struggling, hating the fact that she was physically submitting to the blonde's power, that she felt her ribs being crushed between the Sheriff's vice-like thigh lock. It became more and more difficult to draw air into her arid lungs. Regina tried to wipe her face clear of any emotion, and even as she succeeded in doing so, the blonde showed no signs of sympathy.

"Miss Swan?" Regina whispered, looking directly into the angry green orbs above hers. "If you're quite through with this display of animalistic power, I'd much appreciate – "The Mayors words word cut off as Emma's hands snaked around her exposed neck.

Emma laced her fingers together behind the brunette's neck and squeezed with a small amount of force. She watched as brunette's eyes widened with fear and smiled devilishly, delighting in the fact that for the first time since her arrival in Storybrooke, she saw fear in the older woman. It was intoxicating. She felt a swallow travel down the Mayor's throat. She felt it as it passed under her hands that coiled so easily around her neck. She squeezed a little tighter…grinned a little bigger.

"Fuck you, Regina!" Emma yelled. Her tangled blonde hair fell on either side of her face and trailed to the floor, effectively cloaking both women's' faces behind a veil of blonde tresses. It became a private show. A show for just the two of them. "You wanted me out of this forsaken town so badly that you poisoned me? If you wanted me gone Regina, then why didn't you just fucking kill me? I'll tell you why you didn't…it's because you're a coward. You're too scared to handle the problem directly so you scheme and plan; gather all your pawns, and then when the time is right, you attack from behind your walls. From behind your pawns. You're always so careful; you're hands are never dirty. You make sure that everyone else will go down before you do. You're a fucking coward!"

Emma's hands were winding tighter and tighter around the Mayor's throat. She didn't care. It just felt so god damn good to have the Mayor on her back, powerless, getting what she finally deserves. She'd dreamed about one-upping the Mayor and she thought long and hard about how it would make her feel. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, her whole body – while still burning up from the poison – was on edge. Every movement the brunette attempted, Emma recognized it first and effectively halted feeble attempts at freedom. Every light hair brushing over her fingertips, every waft of air coming from the Mayors mouth, every muscle twitch – everything; she felt it all. Regina's hands grasped and clawed at Emma's wrists as she soon came to realize that the blonde was dangerously close to cutting off her air supply. But Emma hardly noticed, she kept her eyes trained on Regina's, drinking in the look of fear on the woman beneath her. It was beautiful. A perfect picture of pain.

"Why did you do this!?" Emma demanded in a voice so low and dangerous, she didn't even recognize it. Her hands loosened slightly from the Mayors neck and she watched as the darker woman's chest rose dramatically, sucking in a deep breath of air that was denied to her just seconds ago.

Regina shook her head back and forth.

"I didn't do th-"

"Liar!" Emma shouted, tightening her hands once more, relishing in the fragile body squirming beneath her. "Everything you have ever told me was a lie, why should this be any different? For once in your pathetic life Regina…Tell. Me. The. Truth," Emma enunciated the last four words harshly while at the same time lifting the brunettes head by her neck and slamming it down onto the plush carpeted bedroom floor.

Regina was thrashing madly around underneath the blonde. Bucking her hips, kicking her kegs, and flailing her arms about all in an attempt to hit the blonde, or to throw her off…anything so as to regain her freedom from her prison of limbs.

Darkness was threatening to take ahold of her. And at this point, she nearly welcomed it. Anything would be better than the fire in her lungs, the pressure on her throat, and the aching of her limbs. In just seconds, Regina stopped flailing. Her limp arms fell down by her sides. During their descent, Regina's fingers lightly grazed along Emma's jean-clad thighs, until finally falling and remaining dreadfully still at the sides of Emma's knees.

"Mom? Emma? What are you guys doing?" Henry's confused voice rang out through the room like a church bell. He stood at the door in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, rubbing at his sleepy eyes. During the all the commotion, neither woman heard the bedroom door open. Neither woman saw their son.

At the sound of Henry's voice, Emma jumped off of Regina, looked over at Henry, back down to Regina - who thankfully, was taking in numerous deep breaths while staring at Henry – then to her own two hands held out in front of her face.

_Nice going, Swan._

Emma's blood was pounding through her veins. Her heart was thumping so loudly that she could practically feel beat reverberate through her bones. Stunned by her actions and eyes focused on her murderous hands, Emma backed further away from Regina until the backs of her legs collided with the bed. She sank onto the comforter automatically and continued to stare ahead, mouth agape, trying to make sense of the recent events. And for the second time this evening, Emma Swan had minimal recollection of the events played out in the last couple of minutes. She was horrified. For the first time, since this whole mess ensued, Emma Swan finally understood exactly how dangerous the poison ravaging her body truly is.

Regina noticed Emma falter. And once she had sunken onto the bed, Regina knew that Emma's bout of anger was over…at least for now. But the Mayor's was just getting started. There was no way in hell, not even if Emma Swan was the last woman on the planet – there was still no way that she'd be getting away with that one.

The Mayors throat was awash with a red collar that, if measured, would be precisely the size of the Sheriff's hands. Casually rubbing at her throat, Regina collected herself and hurried to Henry who was now looking between the two women with what could only be described as absolute confusion. Regina knelt in front of him and brought her arms around his small frame, hugging him to her chest. She stroked his hair causing the tired young boy to bury his head into his mother's chest. Regina took this minute to throw a furious glance at the younger woman still sitting on her bed, still with a look of disbelief on her face.

The sleepy eyed child glanced up at his adoptive mother in search of an answer to his previous question. Regina smiled at him, despite the fact that the only thing she wanted to do was pound her fists into the blondes face over and over again.

_Oh, yes dear, that sounds like just the type of thing royalty would do._

A slight frown.

_Guess we know the origins of battle royale now don't we?_

"Oh, Henry, Miss Swan and I were just…uh playing a game," Regina offered her lame excuse.

"That didn't look like a game to me," Henry replied, eyeing up Regina before taking a quick look around her at Emma. "Is Emma okay?"

Regina ushered Henry from her room and walked him back down the hallway into his own bedroom. Tucking him in with the precision only a mother could, Regina was able to lull him back into sleep with a few strokes of her fingers through his unruly brown hair. She hoped that he'd forget about everything in the morning and chalk it up to a weird dream.

Now, to deal with the Sheriff.

If she was being completely honest with herself, Regina had no idea what to do about the Sheriff sitting in her bedroom. Back in her land, where she was Queen, there were no doubts that Regina would've pulled the girls heart from her chest and forced her to watch as she gripped it so tightly between her fingers that it crumbled to dust. Alas, and unfortunately, the same punishment was not an option here in Storybrooke.

And while her anger was boiling so intensely, she thought she might actually be able to kill the insolent Sheriff, a sudden realization dawned on her. How on Earth would she be able to explain that one to Henry? No. She couldn't outright kill her. So why not let the poison do the job for her? Sure, the poison wouldn't actually kill her. But Regina was pretty sure that the Sheriff was fragile enough to be broken; broken past the point of repair. And well, hey, having the Sheriff locked away inside a mental ward was just as good as having her gone completely. And at least this way, she could keep an eye on her, just in case humpty dumpty found a way to piece herself back together again.

A wicked smile crept across her face as she could almost taste the delicious satisfaction that the blonde's suffering will bring to her. And with her new resolve, Regina squared her shoulders, wiped her face of all emotion and strode with confidence back into her bedroom.

Emma was no longer seated on the bed. She was standing with her back facing the door, looking out the large window that overlooked the front yard of Mayor Mills' manor. Though she wasn't looking at anything in particular, the view of something more than the four walls of the bedroom gave her solace. Almost grounded her in a way. Thinking about how big the world truly is would be a disconcerting thought to most. But for Emma, it was the most relaxing, peaceful thought she could envision.

As a child, shuffled around in the foster system, all Emma dreamed about was going where she wanted, when she wanted. Never to worry about money nor obligations. And when she met Neal, so many years ago, that dream…that longing, it was finally realized. They travelled in a twice stolen car doing whatever they wanted. But that came to a quick end. Now, here, in Storybrooke – or more relative, Regina Mills' house – Emma felt that longing to see the world in all of its enormity once more.

"Miss Swan…"

Emma's reverie was interrupted by the sound of Regina's voice. Emma didn't turn around to face her. She couldn't. Not after knowing she'd hurt Regina….in front of Henry.

_Good thing you gave him up, Swan, you're really not mother material._

"Regina…I…I am so sorry. I didn't know. It's like, I don't know…I blacked out. I'm sorry." Emma apologized in a hushed tone. She made no attempt to look at the mayor. Instead just continued to stare out of the window, transfixed by the moon, the stars, and the never-ending sky.

"I am not interested in your apologies, Sheriff. The only thing I am interested in is my own well-being. It seems clear to me that I am no longer safe in your presence and neither is Henry for that matter." Regina snarled. In an act of pure egocentrism, Regina crossed the room to stand in front of Emma. She wanted Emma to see the marks on her skin. She wanted Emma to see _her_. "Come. I'll see you out."

Emma gaped at her. Not sure what to make of the Mayors seemingly appropriate gesture. Confusion pummeled her in waves. Regina's mysterious appearance at the docks. Regina's efforts to get her into the car. Regina's kindness affording her with a place to stay. Regina's lack of anger when she rightfully should be. None of it made sense.

"Regina, please. What am I supposed to do? I keep losing myself…keep blacking out and I have no idea what I've done." Emma half-way sobbed. She looked up at the Mayor with glistening eyes, pleading fir understanding and a second – technically third – chance to redeem herself.

"That, my dear Sheriff, is not my problem. But at this moment, you are my problem, and I don't care for unnecessary complications in my life. What happens to you is none of my concern. And if I'm being frank about it…you deserve anything and everything that's coming to you. Let's just hope you don't get yourself pregnant with another child that you'll no doubt throw away."

_Nice going Your Majesty, add fuel to the flames._

If it were possible for Emma's jaw to hit the floor, it would have. But in a moment of clarity, Emma found herself less alarmed by Regina's baiting comments, and more alarmed by her subtle threats.

"And tell me, Madame Mayor, why is it that you think I'll run off and fornicate with some stranger in a town so small that it would surely make its way back to you, via your pawn Mr. Glass, within moments?" Emma questioned. "Let me guess, you've already planned everything out to have someone waiting for me so that I wind up sleeping with them. You are a cruel bitch Madame Mayor."

At this, Regina laughed a most sensual laugh.

"Oh no, dear, I have no doubts that you'll do just fine in your search for someone to bed. After all, you probably won't remember it. Just as you haven't remembered it in so many times in the past."

"What the hell are you getting at?" Emma threw up her hands in frustration. Feeling the need for those hands to wrap around the already blemished flesh of the Mayor's throat.

"I'm sorry, I must have failed to have mentioned this, what with being choked half to death and all. That poison, the very one coursing through your veins, it not only heightens happiness, depression, and anger…but your libido as well."

"Oh…shit."

"Yes, well, have fun with that." Regina quipped, smirking in pleasure at the blonde.

"Well, I guess that explains it." Emma breathed quietly.

"Explains what, dear?"


	5. Get me Wet!

**Authors Note: I've said it before and I'll say it again...all of you are amazing! Thanks to everyone for your reviews, follows, and favorites. I should be working right now, but, I just had to get this next chapter written. **

**Yeah, yeah...I own nothing Once Upon A Time related :(**

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**Chapter Five: Get me Wet!**

"Nothing…just never mind…forget it," Emma stammered. She chewed absentmindedly at the inside of her lip trying desperately to push the risqué thoughts she was having about Regina to the back of her mind. All the way back. Back so far that they would get lost and never be brought to the surface again.

_It must be the effects of the poison…_

_Oh, you think so?_

_Of course. I mean, what else could it be?_

_Oh I dunno, maybe it has something to do with the equally enigmatic and enticing Mayor and her smoking hot body and those extremely kissable lips only inches away from your face as you sat atop her exerting your dominance. Maybe that's what gets you wet?_

_Shut up._

"Forgotten," Regina spoke humorlessly. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll see you to the door." Regina turned on her heel, unconsciously bringing her hand to her neck and softly rubbing at it in attempts to soothe away the pain.

Emma remained in her place by the window, watching Regina as her ass swayed dangerously from side to side. When Regina turned to face her, Emma quickly averted her eyes to the barren walls. She hoped that the Mayor didn't catch sight of her lingering gaze. If she did, Regina chose not to comment on it and instead crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Anytime now, Sheriff."

"You just got done insulting my intelligence when I suggested earlier that I leave and now your just gonna kick me out?"

"That was before you decided to attack me."

"Come on, Regina. I said I was sorry. You knew that this could happen. Which makes me wonder why you'd even offer your home to me in the first place. But I guess it doesn't matter now does it?" Emma sounded defeated.

Truth be told, she was scared. If she kept blacking out…who knows what kind of trouble she'd find herself in. If she found herself at all. With her luck, she'd wander down to the harbor and decide that it was a wonderful time for a swim. She'd either freeze to death in the subzero water or she'd swim until she'd exhausted all her energy. Either way, she'd be dead.

As much of a frightening scenario that it was, Emma's mind wasted no time in creating about a dozen more. Thoughts of waking up in a strangers bed with no clothes and of being abducted and consequently sold into the sex-trade. Equally disconcerting thoughts of murdering one of her friends in blind rage was enough to bring her to tears.

"Regina, please, I'm begging you…" Emma walked over to the door where Regina was waiting impatiently, her face devoid of emotion.

"I don't care if you're begging me or not, Miss Swan, you've very much overstayed your welcome. I want you out of my house, away from me and my son. You can either follow me to the door or jump out the window, it makes no difference to me." Regina stared vehemently at Emma as she spat out her venomous words.

Emma was at a loss for anything to say. She found herself wondering if the Mayor had ever been in a situation where she desperately needed help only to be denied such a thing. Probably not. She is the Mayor after all. Even people who don't like her would be willing to offer their aid because she's the damn Mayor.

It was clear that nothing would change Regina's mind and with one last defeated sigh, Emma began to formulate a new plan in her head. She'd go back to Mary Margaret's, lock herself in her room and stay in her bed for the next week. She'd tell Mary Margaret that she's really sick and highly contagious in hopes that it would be enough to deter the school teacher from entering her room. If all else fails, she'd barricade the damn door to keep the woman out.

"Fine. Lead the way evil bitch." Emma motioned for Regina to exit the room first.

Regina raised her eyebrows as if in amusement.

"Real mature, Miss Swan." Regina rolled her eyes before turning around once more and leading Emma back out into the hallway and descending the grand staircase to the main floor. Emma followed her obediently, struggling to keep her mind from straying. She had to admit, the enormity of the house and the way the moonlight flooded in through the large windows casted the rooms in an almost ghastly layer.

"What did you expect? I picked that up from the kid." Emma jeered, knowing that at the very least it would get under Regina's skin momentarily. She didn't, however, expect Regina to stop dead in her tracks which caused Emma to slam right into her. Regina swiftly turned to face the blonde and found the Sheriff's eyes alight with humor.

Regina struggled to refrain from unleashing a barrage of insults against the Sheriff. The only thing holding her back was her sleeping son in one of the rooms above them. Instead, she glowered at the Sheriff, leaning in rapaciously, until she was close enough to whisper into the blonde's ear.

"I don't know what it is that you wish to accomplish by insinuating that my son would say such a thing about me but I can assure you that the repercussions of your implications will be most unpleasant."

With a lecherous smile on her face, the Mayor backed away from the younger woman and proceeded to walk to the door. The sooner the bitch was gone, the better. Then, Regina would come up with a thousand and one ways to make her life even more miserable if she managed to recover from the poison.

The unsuspecting blonde, however, didn't seemed phased by the Mayor's threats. After all, she'd heard so many of them before, it was becoming part of their routine interactions. Stage set: enter Emma with a baiting comment. Enter Regina invading her personal space. Stare down. Empty threat. Smile and scene.

"Sounds kinky," Emma shrugged. Regina stared at the blonde, thoroughly unamused, and went about unlocking the door. "Don't get me wrong…" Emma started again, walking up behind the Mayor as she turned the lock. "I'm no glutton for punishment but you just make everything sound so damn enticing."

Emma sauntered up behind Regina until she was pressed flush against her back. The warmth coming from the darker woman was enough to set flames to Emma's already fevered skin. But she didn't care. The feel of Regina pressed up against her was maddening. Emma wanted nothing more than to take her hands and explore every inch of skin forbidden from her eyes. She smirked, pressing her lips to the skin of Regina's uncovered shoulder.

Regina trembled beneath her as a sudden influx of desire rained over her. Regina's head lolled back as Emma's lips brushed against her skin again, causing her creamy skin to horripilate. Taking Regina's reactions in the best way possible, Emma brought her hands to rest possessively on the darker woman's hips and pull her back further into herself. Returning her attention to the small visible patch of skin at the woman's shoulder, Emma bit down on the tender flesh, eliciting a moan from the brunette's too-often sardonic lips.

"You sound so sweet," Emma whispered into Regina's ear. Although she was aroused before even touching the brunette, Emma felt her wetness seeping from her core when that moan hit her ears. It sounded so sweet, so seductive; it took all Emma's resolve to keep from spinning the Mayor around, shoving her against the door and tasting those sweet sounds for herself as she rammed her fingers in and out of Regina's slick folds.

"Miss Swan…"

Emma snaked her left hand up Regina's back, raking her nails along her neck and on her scalp before roughly grabbing a fistful of her hair and jerking her head to the side. With more skin on display, Emma wasted no time nibbling and biting at her neck. Her right hand, made its way slowly along Regina's flat stomach until it hovered over her right breast for a second. Emma bit down on the Mayors neck and at the same time made quick work of finding her hardened nipple hidden beneath her shirt and imprisoned within her bra. Regina moaned once more as her knees buckled.

"That's better," Emma whispered so close to Regina's ear that her lips gently grazed across the outer shell of her ear. "Do you want to know what I'm going to do to you?"

Regina shivered as Emma's alarming question even furthered her flight of fancy. Too long. It had been too long since Regina felt someone else's hands on her body. Masterful hands that knew precisely where to touch her; how to treat her. The contact between herself and the Sheriff had been brief and minimal, but that's all it took. Regina felt the heat between her legs, felt the familiar tug in her lower abdomen, felt her mind submitting to the blonde. All because she wanted to _feel._ She wanted to feel alive once more. She wanted to feel another person's skin upon her own. She needed it.

"Miss Swan…."

Emma pushed Regina roughly against the door with one hand at the small of her back and the other still tangled in her hair, effectively keeping the left side of the Mayor's face pressed against the door. Emma placed a quick kiss on her exposed cheek before speaking again.

"I'm going to strip you. Of your clothes. Of your dignity. And of your power. And I'm going to take you, right here up against the door. I'm going to make you scream my name as you come over and over at my hands. I'm going to destroy you." Emma growled. With each sentence, Emma pressed Regina harder and harder against the door.

Emma spun Regina around quickly, pressing her back up against the door. She wasted no time finding that sweet spot on her neck and biting down on it. Regina hissed a heady mixture of pleasure and pain.

"Do you want to know the best part about all of this?" Emma backed away slightly from Regina, focusing on those burning sienna coals. Regina swallowed but couldn't tear her gaze away from Emma's eyes; glinting with mischief and malformed intentions. "You're going to love every second of it, Madame Mayor."

"Miss Swan!"

A voice piercing through darkness. Amaranthine darkness. The kind of darkness that threatens to drive you completely mad. A suffocating darkness.

Shivers wracking through her body. It was cold. So cold. Icy pricks on the most sensitive parts of her skin kept the shivers and chattering teeth on an unfaltering loop.

From the depths of the icy blackness, two hands – appearing from nowhere – took ahold of her shoulders, pulling her down. Emma struggled, thrashing about like a fish out of water, she screamed. She made no sound. Her voice was swallowed up by the darkness around her. Down, down, down she went - but the flames never went higher.

Emma closed her eyes.

_Curtain close. Exit stage left._

Fluorescent light flooded the room, shining with unforgiveable brightness even through the meager skin of her eyelids. Emma's eyes shot open and she immediately squeezed them shut again at the lights reprehensible attack. She brought a frozen hand to shield herself from the harsh white lights. Her skin was cold, so cold. And wet?

She hadn't realized it before, but slowly she became aware of her ragged breathing. It was as if she'd been deprived of something so precious for far too long. She couldn't get enough of it. Lung full after lung full; it just wasn't enough. She needed more.

But it was so cold, so unbelievably cold. Her entire body felt as though it were entombed in an icy prison. Entombed? No that wasn't quite right. As awareness spread through her mind, Emma realized that she could move her entire body quite freely. Though each move was agonizing as it invoked another wave of coldness to swell against her naked body.

Wait. Naked?

Still squinting against the assailing light, Emma groped blindly for something to hold onto. But the surface of her vessel was slick and equally as cold as the liquid flowing over and around her. Just knowing that there was a solid surface beneath her caused Emma to struggle even more to take hold of it. If for nothing else, then to simply ground her - to keep from falling further through the vortex of craziness in her mind.

But the pressure on her shoulders was too much. The more she struggled against the pressure, the firmer the grip became. It was painful enough already. Something sharp digging into her frozen flesh. Emma cried out. And this time, her cries were heard. The sounds of her shrill cry reverberated off the walls, sounding foreign to her own ears. The remnants of her outburst rang in her ears; a terribly high-pitched and irritating ringing. Louder than anything she'd heard in a long time.

Just how long had she been locked away in her silent, soundless misery?

As if noticing her pain, it receded, but the pressure remained. Different this time though. Soothing, in a way. She felt the pressure move from her shoulders to her chest, pressing firmly on her chilled skin, willing her to lean back. Emma became aware of the rising and falling of her chest and of the rapid pace in which it did so. Feeling this….was somehow comforting. In that comfort, Emma found the ability to take slower breaths. Deeper breaths.

It took many minutes before Emma attempted to open her eyes once more. The warmth of the pressure on her chest was so reassuring, so comforting, she didn't want it to disappear. Though, if the world was perfect, she would have quickly traded her arctic water-ensconced placement for much more tropical one.

Emma hesitantly parted her eyelids, relieved that the previously harsh white light seemed just a bit dimmer. The ringing in her ears subsided to nothing more than a dull, low tone. Her surroundings were unfamiliar, which nearly sent her into a panic once more. As soon as her body tensed, the pressure returned to her chest. Emma looked down, finding that the pressure was coming from two hands splayed across her chest, just above her breasts.

She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted before she could even get a sound out.

"Well if there's one thing you've managed to accomplish today, Miss Swan, it would be getting me wet," The Mayor's familiar drawl filled the otherwise silent room.

Emma instantly flinched away, attempting to cover her naked form, yet remaining unsuccessful in doing so as the translucent water allowed for no reprieve. Giving up and just pulling her knees to her chest, Emma's shocked face glanced about the room.

Stark naked, in the bathtub, in Regina's – the fucking Mayor's bathroom – _oh, hell._

"What the fucking hell is going!?" Emma demanded as she drank in the site of the Mayor standing behind the tub, her clothes drenched with water. Several strands of wet hair clung to her face, seemingly forgotten, as she looked upon her soaked clothes with disdain.


	6. In Truth and Trust

**Authors Note: So here it is, the sixth chapter. I hope it doesn't dissappoint. I loved hearing all of your ideas about what happened in the last chapter. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this chapter as well!**

**Again, I own nothing Once Upon A Time related :(**

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**Chapter Six: In Truth and Trust**

"I trust that you can manage to dress yourself?" Regina inquired, averting her eyes away from the shivering body in her bathtub. She motioned to the countertop which held a stack of clothes and a bleach white towel. Emma nodded her head, not quite trusting her ability to speak and watched as the Mayor turned stiffly on her heels and walked out of the bathroom.

Regina was leaning with her back against the bathroom door, brows furrowed in deep concentration. She – the Evil Queen, the destroyer of happiness and hope, the most powerful woman to live – had just helped the one person with enough power to break the curse. Not only was this person capable of breaking the curse, but she could be the one to take Henry away from her. Anger surged through Regina's veins at the thought of it. Not to mention so highly exalted Savior was blessed with the mind of a prepubescent boy, all the grace of a rhinoceros, and fashion sense of a Neanderthal.

But none of that changed the fact that Regina had actually helped her. Emma had been fine when she followed Regina into the bathroom, wordlessly accepting her offer for a cold bath. After filling the tub, Regina left the room to check in on Henry. He was sleeping soundlessly, looking peaceful and carefree, and probably dreaming up a storm. Satisfied with her darling little angel, Regina made her way into the master bedroom, removing her coat as she did so.

Fishing through the pockets - a habit she'd developed soon after her arrival in Storybrooke as she quickly learned that cell phones were not waterproof - Regina's fingers brushed against something hard in the pocket. She pulled it out and looked at the forgotten item in her hand. The Sheriff's phone. A deliciously evil grin spread across her face as she thought about all the wonderful chaos she could create with this simple device.

Regina felt a familiar tingling sensation in her fingertips as her powers trembled just below the surface of her skin. It was a pleasing sensation, one that the Queen reveled in. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back, welcoming the teasing shivers her powers produced. Regina smiled as she opened her eyes to look at the phone once more. A most sadistic thought ran through her mind; a mind tainted with hatred and revenge.

After a good few minutes perusing through the Sheriff's phone, Regina came to the conclusion that Emma was decidedly…boring. She had half expected the phone to be filled to the brim with risqué pictures and chockfull of vulgar noise apps. Emma's phone was clean. Too clean. And judging by the amount of phone calls and text messages on the phone led Regina to believe that perhaps she just wasn't as reliant on technology as she had imagined. Well, it's either that, or the Sheriff was meticulous enough to delete her logs quite frequently throughout the day.

The Mayor pondered on that thought for a moment. It seemed both perfectly logical and illogical at the same time. She'd seen the way Emma lives; boxes placed haphazardly about the room in no particular organizational pattern with the contents regurgitating from the too-many-times taped flaps, clothes littered upon the floor much like her entire wardrobe had spontaneously combusted, an array of empty chips and cheese curl bags tossed carelessly in the general vicinity of the trashcan – yet most of them seemed to have missed the target, showcasing just how well the blonde faired at basketball – and not to mention the soda bottles - some empty, some only missing a few sips – adorning every visible inch of surface area in bedroom. God the woman was really a slob.

Strangely, her phone juxtaposed the constant state of disarray Emma's life seemed to entail. Though, such carefulness could almost be expected. She had grown up by herself which forced her to do, well, who knows what just to survive. Covering her tracks must be a natural instinct.

_Filling out her mother's shoes nicely, eh?_

And surely working as a bounty hunter only reinforced her need to destroy any and all evidence of a setup. Yes, Regina was quite sure that Emma was very adept at hiding things; never wanting to give someone the chance to dig up any dirt on her. Isn't that why Henry's prison-born story had been buried so deeply? Rage sweltered in her heart just thinking about it.

Regina's nimble fingers made quick work typing out a text to send to Mary Margaret all while her smile threatened to stretch from ear to ear.

**Something came up…have to leave town for a bit. Don't worry. See you soon.**

She read and re-read the message multiple times, editing it here and there to make it sound more like Emma. But in the end, Regina decided on the least descriptive, shortest version of them all. And then a plan – nothing short of evil - formulated in that nefarious mind of hers.

Unsure of how much time she had wasted sifting through the Sheriff's phone, Regina quickly changed into something a little more comfortable, and a little less wet. She opted for a pair of black silk pajama pants and a blood red camisole top. Feeling much less like a wet dog, Regina entered the bathroom en suite and draped her wet clothes over the top of the shower, not wishing to throw them in the hamper with the rest of the dirty clothes, lest she wanted her entire room to smell of sodden fabric.

Regina turned to face herself in the large bathroom mirror and frowned at her ruined hair. She ran a comb through it just a few times before huffing in annoyance at the stubborn damp strands that just refused to comply with her wishes. Fighting the urge to wash and blow dry her hair for vanity's sake, Regina managed to tear herself away from the mirror, remembering that she had a guest in the next room.

Emma was just leaving the bathroom as Regina walked through the bedroom door. Catching a brief glimpse of the Mayor before averting her eyes to the floor, Emma was sure she had at least mouthed the word 'damn'. The red camisole was both complimentary to her skin tone and did wonders outlining her dangerous curves. Emma had never seen that much of Regina's skin on display. It was strange – so very unlike the Mayor to be seen in clothes that qualified as comfortable by any woman's standards.

"I see the clothes fit you well enough," Regina spoke, breaking the silence between them. Emma shrugged, a little weary of Regina's definition of 'well enough'. The black camisole, that seemed to be the same style as its counterpart on Regina's frame, fit perfectly. The shorts, however, were a different story.

"Are these Henry's shorts?" Emma questioned, picking at the material clinging tightly to her thighs. Regina nodded, not caring to hide her amused smile as the shorts were clearly too small for the Sheriff. "Couldn't you have just lent me a pair of sweatpants or something? I look ridiculous wearing an 11-year olds basketball shorts."

"Nonsense, dear, you look just fine. Besides, it's only sleeping attire so you needn't be dressed to impress." Regina dismissed the blonde's statement. "Besides, I'll have your clothes here in the morning for you."

Emma looked at her slightly confused but couldn't find the strength to press the situation further. Instead, she just nodded in acceptance and sunk down onto the bed. Regina delighted in the fact that the Sheriff was so compliant right now. It truly was a breath of fresh air to not have to defend or explain herself to the irritating woman with every breath she took. And it was going to make everything just that much easier as Regina created the mental image of the game board in her head. Almost all the pieces had been placed and soon they'd begin to move. Then would come the time to sit back and relax once more.

Smiling, Regina crossed the room to stand in front of Emma. She brought the back of her hand to the Sheriff's forehead; a gesture that Emma had flinched away from. Emma retracted from the brunettes touch so quickly it was like she'd been burned with a hot poker.

"What are you doing?" Emma questioned. Regina rolled her eyes in annoyance.

_So much for compliance._

"I would have thought that to be obvious, Miss Swan," Regina's clipped words sounding harsher than intended. "Hasn't anyone ever touched your forehead to see if you're running a fever?"

"No. Some of us grew up without parents to do such nurturing things."

"Surely the doctors, or a teacher…?"

"Nope. The only time I had my temperature taken was at the hospital. And the only time I was at the hospital...well…" Emma chewed on her lip as painful memories of her past resurfaced. "I'd rather not talk about that."

"As you wish, dear."

Emma expelled a breath of relief and closed her eyes, trying to fight away the dark memories. With eyes still closed, she felt Regina's hand lay tentatively across her forehead once more. Emma's eyes shot open only to see Regina looking down at her, smiling slightly, and then withdrawing her hand from the Sheriff's forehead.

"Seems like that cold bath helped your fever a bit," Regina spoke reassuringly as she turned and walked towards the dresser, sifting through the top drawer for something – though Emma had no idea what she could be looking for.

"Speaking of…how is your neck?" Emma questioned, dropping her gaze into her lap and fidgeting nervously with her fingers. Emma remembered the angry red collar embellished on the older woman's neck. A mark produced from her own internal rage.

Regina turned to look towards her with confusion clear on her face.

"What are you talking about, Sheriff?"

Emma's eyes shot up to look at the Mayor. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times as she tried to formulate her next sentence. But no sentence came. Emma's eyes trailed from Regina's face, down to her neck, tanned and – other than a small beauty mark just above her right collar bone – completely unmarred.

"What? How is that possible!? I…I attacked you…and Henry…oh my god, is Henry okay!?" Emma stammered, rising from the bed impossibly fast and running her hands frantically through her wet hair.

"Miss Swan, I have no idea what you're talking about. Henry is fine, he's been sleeping the entire time. And you most certainly did not attack me. If you had, well, let's just say things wouldn't be as cordial as they are now." Regina said, finally locating the item she had been searching for. Leaving the drawer open, Regina was crossing the room to the Sheriff once more.

Emma had her face buried in her hands, head shaking fervently back and forth as she tried to grasp at straws of reality. Had she imagined all of that? Surely not, it was so real. She could _feel_ Regina's pulse in her own two hands wrapped mercilessly around her neck. She felt the panic – the terror – the Mayor was feeling as she realized the life was slowly being choked out of her.

Emma felt her hands being pulled away from her face and closed her eyes stubbornly. This was all too much. She was unable to keep her eyes focused on the Mayor's. They were so close, only inches of space separating them. Regina smiled, but Emma didn't see it. Her eyes were trained on Regina's neck. The untouched, undefiled, perfectly regal neck. Gathering her strength, Emma raised her eyes to the smoldering coals possessed by the older woman.

"So…if that didn't happen…if I didn't attack you…did I, you know, at the door?" Emma stammered, feeling her face turn bright red. She pulled away from Regina and fell down onto the bed once more, her legs no longer willing to support her.

"Again, Miss Swan, I have no idea what you're talking about." Regina stated as she climbed behind Emma on the bed. Sitting up on her knees and running her hands through Emma's tangled mane. "Honestly, Sheriff, do you not care for your hair at all?" Regina asked irritably as her fingers were met with knot after knot.

"Oh I must have forgotten about my appointment at the salon, what with being poisoned and all," A viscous sarcasm smothered Emma's words. Emma half expected Regina to come back with an equally sarcastic remark, but all she heard was a slight chuckle come from the woman positioned behind her.

"Poisoned or not, that's no reason to overlook an appointment at the salon," Regina lectured her in a playful manner. "Fret not, dear, I'll get you all fixed up. Now while I attempt to work some magic on your hair, why don't you tell me all about your hallucination?" Regina brought the brush Emma's chaotic – almost vibrissal – mane.

Emma closed her eyes at the sensation of the brush foraging through her long blonde hair. She relaxed slightly, forgetting that it was the avaricious Mayor Mills sitting so close, so very close, behind her brushing her hair as if she were a child. Emma's mouth had gone dry as she felt the alternating strokes of the brush, then Regina's fingers, raking gently across her scalp.

"How about you just tell me everything that's happened since we arrived here," Emma suggested, not too keen on the idea of telling the Mayor that she envisioned pushing her up against the front door and threatening to fuck her right then and there. That would just go over _so_ well. "Wait, and how do you know that I was hallucinating?" Emma asked, shooting her eyes open and attempting to turn and face Regina.

Regina laughed and grabbed her by either side of her face and pointed her head forwards. Whether the gesture was for her own sake – or Emma's – she was unsure.

"It wasn't difficult to tell that you were hallucinating. Not with all the screaming and thrashing about you were doing." Regina chuckled again.

"Why do you keep laughing?" Emma asked quietly, almost afraid to question it. Afraid that if she mentioned it, Regina would throw those cold walls up again. And for whatever reason, Emma didn't want that. Hearing Regina laugh – not that fake politician laugh – but a real laugh…it was beautiful.

"Because it was amusing, dear."

"Schadenfreude is a really unsettling quality for a Mayor," Emma quipped, feeling her mouth form a small smirk.

"Glad to see you've surpassed elementary vocabulary, Miss Swan." Regina countered.

"Shut up," Emma rolled her eyes and smiled.

"But my dear Sheriff, if I shut up, how will I ever tell you about the events since your arrival here?" Regina asked innocently, continuing the lulling motion of brushing through Emma's now somewhat tamed hair.

"Oh, who's acting like an elementary child now?" Emma scoffed, unable to wipe the smile from her face.

"Just catering to my audience."

Emma said nothing, just shook her head back and forth. This playful banter was so unlike all their previous interactions, Emma couldn't be sure if she was hallucinating again or if this was real. After a moment's pause, Regina began to speak again, still pulling the brush through Emma's hair, transfixed by the damp golden tresses succumbing to her ministrations.

"There's not really much to tell, Miss Swan. I brought you up here and tried to explain the dangers of the poison, you hit on me once, then I drew you a cold bath and let you soak for a while, hoping that it would help bring your fever down. While you were in the bath, I checked on Henry and gathered some clothes for you. I was gone maybe five minutes before you started screaming. I rushed back into the bathroom only to find you thrashing about as if you were having a seizure. I didn't want to force you to wake from the hallucination, as that could have some very terrible repercussions, so I just held you still until you came to."

Emma listened intently to Regina's story. She still couldn't understand it. The attack and everything that followed was all – if Regina was telling the truth – a hallucination. Okay, that was understandable...kind of. But why would the Mayor want to help her? That was the part that made absolutely no sense.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Emma whispered as she stared at nothing in particular in front of her. Regina stopped brushing and moved from behind Emma. At once, Emma noticed the lack of warmth that was produced by Regina's body being in such close proximity to her. She shivered.

"You don't." Regina said, sitting next Emma on the bed, keeping a moderate amount of space between them.

"That's reassuring." Emma pursed her lips and looked at Regina who was staring at the brush clasped between her hands.

"It wasn't mean to be reassuring. You'll just have to trust me."

"It's just…I mean c'mon Regina. You've wanted me gone since the second I stepped foot into your town. Hell, you tried to drive me out on many occasions. And now you're asking for me to trust you? No offense, but how the hell do you expect me to do that?" Emma struggled to keep her voice calm.

Regina rose from the bed and moved to replace the brush into the drawer from whence it came. Turning around to lean on the dresser, Regina crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I realize that our interactions in the past haven't been the friendliest and asking for your trust – something I know is not easily given – is a loaded request. But as it is, I am the only person that can help you right now, the only person that has endured the suffering you're about to go through."

Emma's eyes went wide as she finally understood how Regina knew so much about this poison. It had been inflicted upon her too. When? By whom? Rapid fire questions shot out from her brain but none of them made it into an audible format. All she could do was gape at the brunette woman standing defensively against the dresser. The look on her face was so raw, so telling…Emma knew that the older woman was thinking back on her experiences with the poison.

"…I had…no idea…I'm sorry" Emma managed to whisper.

Regina's head snapped up at the blonde's words.

"I do not need your condolences, Miss Swan. It was a long time ago." Regina barked and turned to leave Emma in the room by herself.

_Oh, hello there ice queen, thought we had lost you for a minute._

"Wait!" Emma all but yelled. Regina stopped but didn't turn back to look at her. "Just tell me, why? You despise me and yet you're…being kind to me. You're helping me. Why?" Emma questioned.

Regina was silent for a moment before responding. Turning ever so slightly, Regina stared into Emma's eyes – so reminiscent of her mothers.

"Because things are not always what they seem to be at first glance, Miss Swan."

Regina left the room, pulling the door shut quietly behind her, leaving Emma alone in the guest bedroom with just her thoughts for company.


	7. Sweet Dreams Are Made of Me

**Authors Note: Thank the vodka for two updates in one day. Also, blame the vodka for a poorly constructed chapter. I guess I could've waited for tomorrow to post this but I just couldn't - not with knowing that it was sitting on my desktop waiting to be read. There's not a lot of dialogues in this chapter, it's more insight on both Regina and Emma's behalf. I look forward to hearing what you guys think!**

**Thanks again to all you followers, reviewers, and favorite-ers...it's because of you that I keep updating this fic.**

**Same story...I own nothing Once Upon A Time related...but I wish I did. **

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**Chapter Seven: Sweet Dreams Are Made of Me**

Regina laid in the very center of her lavish bed. The comforter was pulled up to her stomach, leaving her chest and arms exposed. For the better part of a half an hour, she had been struggling to find a comfortable sleeping position. The excitement dancing around in her body was to blame for her restlessness. She couldn't wait to set the next part of her plan in motion, far too eager to be rid of the Savior who threatened to break her curse. The curse she had sacrificed so much for. All she required now was patience. And patience was something the Queen was not blessed with an abundance of.

She wanted results, she wanted them now, and if it weren't for her body slowly shutting down from exhaustion, she would've been acting on her plans at this very moment. But sadly, fatigue weighed on her limbs like darkness over a haunted house. It was unavoidable. Just another annoying thing about a world without magic. No wonder it took people so long to accomplish anything in this dull land. Their bodies needed natural sleep and unfortunately for them, they didn't possess the ability to create potions strong enough to keep fatigue and exhaustion at bay for days at a time.

Tossing to her right side, Regina buried herself further under the comforter and closed her eyes, welcoming the darkness of sleep. It was only a moment, but she felt herself drifting further and further away from consciousness. Then an obnoxious beep brought her back to reality as her dark eyes scanned the room for the beeping perpetrator. She didn't have to look far though. Sitting atop one of the bedside tables was the cell phone which belonged to the Sheriff, screen still lit from receiving an alert. Groaning irritably, Regina rolled closer to the edge of the bed to reach the phone.

She squinted at the harsh LED screen, barely able to make out who the culprit behind the alert was. Regina grinned wickedly as she soon realized it was a response to the text she had sent to Mary Margaret not so long ago. She wondered for a moment why the schoolteacher was still awake at this hour. That seemed a little out of character for her. Unless you factor in Mary Margaret's pre-curse persona, then perhaps being awake so late wasn't such of a strange thing.

Regina bit her lip at this thought, but after a few seconds consideration, she dismissed any and all apprehensiveness about it. The curse was strong, yes, but it was completely logical if small slivers of the people they were back in the Enchanted Forest slipped through every now and again. Plus, Regina had a solution to the potential curse breaking problem. A solution that was currently sleeping in the room next to her. With a satisfied smile, Regina opened the message from Mary Margaret.

**Emma don't do this. Don't run. I know you're scared and running was the solution you used in the past. But don't do it. I need you, we all need you…Henry needs you. Please come back and just talk to me.**

Finding it difficult to resist the urge to type a message that says 'I hate you and I'm never coming back', Regina decided it'd be best to let the Saviors mother worry all night long about the woman who was the daughter she didn't know she had. There was just something so twisted and yet so pleasurable about her nemesis' silent suffering. It's that type of suffering that is so much more gratifying than ripping out her heart and squeezing the life out of it. Maybe because emotional pain are a worse fate than physical pain. After all, you can recover from pain, wounds heal; infections fester then dissipate. But emotional pain, that's a whole different story. Not even time can heal those wounds. And every time you try to treat an emotional wound, it just rips right open again. Over and over and over again. Eternal torment.

Regina fell asleep with the Sheriff's phone lying forgotten on the pillow next to her head. The phone itself was thankfully silent for the rest of the night.

Emma had been sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the door for many minutes after Regina's departure. God damn that confounding woman. Why does she always have to speak in riddles? Things would be so much easier if she just said exactly what she intended to say instead. Jesus she was infuriating.

With nothing else to do but ponder on questions that she'd never get an answer to, Emma resigned herself to slipping underneath the covers and hoping that her dreams wouldn't be anything like the hallucinations she'd been having. From the moment her head hit the pillow, Emma knew it was going to be a tossing and turning sleepless kind of night. Though she was sure that if she didn't have a million questions bouncing around in her skull, sleep would have come incredibly easy. She had to admit, after an ice bath, she felt much more comfortable. Her skin was no longer burning nor was it covered in a sheen of perspiration. That was a most welcome change.

And hell, her body felt great. Light, nimble, but strong and balanced. A body capable of scaling the walls of the Mayor's manor with perfect grace until she found the window of Regina's bedroom. She could slip in agilely, stealthily, so not to make a sound. To take the Mayor by surprise…

Emma shook her head at the thought. Why did everything come back to the infuriating woman? Emma sighed and closed her eyes, making a mental catalogue of reasons why her mind insisted on thinking of the Mayor. Sure, Regina always weighed heavily on her mind but it was more because she was practically expecting for her to pop up around every corner. Regina's omniscient presence was unsettling and had kept her on edge from the very first day in Storybrooke. Emma thought about the events of the evening, starting with the Mayor's first appearance.

Well, Regina had certainly turned up at pretty much worst time – or the best depending on which way you look at it. What started out to be typical Mayor-Sheriff banter took a quick turn and it was the Mayor helping Emma when she couldn't help herself. Granted, she looked like a complete ass in front of Regina…but the Mayor understood. And that was weird.

She understood and refrained from being too bitchy. Well, that was new. Any time the Mayor had a chance to degrade Emma, she'd take it. No questions asked. But she had instead, opened her home to her as a place of refuge. She drew Emma a bath and held her when she was having a hallucination induced panic attack. Emma was naked, and Regina was there. And that red top. And what the hell was with her brushing through her hair as if Emma were a child. And that laugh.

Emma was stuck on one thought. That laugh. It was a sound sweeter than sugar and it was quite possibly the most beautiful laugh Emma had ever heard. Though she couldn't quite figure out why that was. So she laid there in bed, staring at the ceiling, not even realizing that she was grinning like a fool. Emma supposed, the reason she was so spellbound by something as simple as a laugh, was the fact that Regina never really laughed. She was always cold, aloof, never even cracking a genuine smile. But there she was, kneeling behind Emma's own body, running a brush through her hair as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Like they were best friends at a sleepover. And she laughed.

Emma decided that the laughter was something she liked. And she'd like to hear more of it. As she remembered the Mayor's final words to her before exiting the bedroom, everything started making just a bit more sense.

_"Because things are not always what they seem to be at first glance, Miss Swan."_

Maybe the dreaded Mayor Mills wasn't really as bad as people made her out to be. Maybe, she was just misunderstood. People are the product of their pasts. And maybe the Mayor had a past just as bad – if not worse – than Emma had. It would make sense. It would explain her callousness, her abrasiveness, and the fortified walls surrounding her as if she were Fort Knox; locked up tight.

Regina had opened herself up just a bit. She probably didn't even know it. But if there was one thing Emma was very adept at, it was reading people. For Regina to relinquish her power-clothes and opt for something far from authoritative, made her believe that Regina didn't feel the need to assert her power during their interaction. The gentle gestures Regina had made, feeling her forehead and brushing her hair, both were unnecessary. And both women knew that. But unnecessary as they were, they were also very much welcomed. Such things seemed to come naturally to Regina, though Emma never would have guessed it. She imagined Regina to rule her household much like she did Storybrooke; with ruthlessness and unwavering discipline.

However natural ruthlessness came to Regina, tenderness come just as naturally. And Emma was once more reminded that there must an unfathomable depth to Regina. Maybe even deeper and darker than the Marianas Trench. That was part of the allure…part of the desire. The desire to give Regina the chance to be known. The desire to be the person that knows Regina. She was sure there would be a lot of pain, darkness, and misery. But hell, as the old saying goes, misery loves company, and between herself and the Mayor, there was plenty of misery to go around.

At some point in the night, not too long after lying down on the extraordinarily comfortable pillow, Emma had fallen asleep.

She watched from midway up the hill as a beautiful brunette girl, with perfectly plaited hair, came galloping over on a magnificent chestnut steed. She jumped from the beast as he was still slowing to a canter and ran to a man waiting patiently underneath a huge tree. They embraced. They were talking animatedly, though Emma couldn't hear the exchange of words. And then from somewhere across the field there came the shrill cry of a child.

From over one of the hills, further away, came a stampeding horse carrying a frightened girl in its saddle. The plait-haired brunette was on her horse again, chasing down the wild mare with the screaming child. Her own steed caught up with younger girl's so fast it was almost unbelievable. Stretching a hand out to the kid, the brunette pulled her onto her own horse and slowed as quickly as possible. Emma ran over to the girls as quickly as her feet would allow. By the time she reached the scene, the brunette and the child were smiling at one another, completely oblivious to Emma's presence.

"My name is Snow…Snow White," The young girl spoke with all the delicacy of freshly bloomed flower.

The older woman, smiled at the child. "Mine's Regina."

Emma blinked in astonishment. But when she opened her eyes, things were completely different. She was in a stable, standing beside a young man as he stroked the mane of one of the horses with expert precision. The stable doors came bursting open, and the brunette – Regina – came running in. She threw her arms around the man and kissed him passionately. And when they pulled away, both Regina and the stable boy looked in each other's and eyes confessed their love for one another. Regina wrapped her arms around the man once more and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before rushing out of the doors just as quickly as she came in.

"What a tease," Emma said, jabbing the man in the ribs with her elbow. He didn't notice. He just smiled at Regina's retreating form. Emma sighed and walked out of the doors of the stable. Wishing to know the mystery man's name, Emma turned around to ask him but gasped audibly as she was met with an image of the man and Regina locked in a loving embrace once more.

They looked at her with surprise and horror on their faces. Emma didn't know why, but she turned and ran. There was something about that embrace, something so personal, something she felt she wasn't supposed to see. Embarrassed and unable to say anything, Emma just ran as fast as she could.

It was dark, and cold. But Emma kept running. She heard her name being shouted from somewhere behind her.

"Snow! Wait!"

_My name isn't Snow! Why am I being called Snow!?_ But she didn't stop, not even to think about that. She just kept running until she came to the outskirts of a forest. Continuing along the muddy path, Emma ran. She glanced over her shoulder to see if she as still being followed and saw Regina speeding after her, calling her name over and over. Regina was gaining ground quickly, and with one last wind of energy, Emma willed her feet to carry her even faster. Though all she managed to do was trip and fall face first in the dirt. Within seconds, Regina was on top of her.

"Snow! Are you okay?" Regina questioned with fear in her voice.

She looked so young. So pretty. So innocent.

"No. No. Why were you kissing that man in the stable? You're to marry my father. You're to be my mother." Emma answered before even thinking about it, eyes filling with tears as she looked upon the face of a younger Regina.

"Oh, Snow, please. Listen to me. Hey. Your father, King Leopold, he's a kind and fair man… But I don't love him."

"I don't understand. Why not?" Emma begged to understand.

"Love doesn't work that way. Love, true love, is magic. And not just any magic – the most powerful magic of all. It creates happiness."

"And that man in the stables… You love him?" Emma felt like she had just been let in on one of the biggest secrets ever. Love could do that? She pondered on this thought and dreamed up a man, her own Prince Charming that would be her true love. The one that would be responsible for her happiness.

"With all my heart."

The ground opened up and swallowed Emma whole. She plummeted at an incredible speed, narrowly avoiding tree roots and falling debris during her descent. Emma opened her mouth to scream but the sheer velocity of her fall prohibited any sound from escaping. She was falling right towards a huge rock protruding from the wall of the hole she was falling through. So fast, so close, she was about to make contact with the boulder. Emma quickly shielded her face as the rock collided with her shoulder blade. The force of the collision flipped her over so that she was now falling, face first towards the bottom of a seemingly endless hole.

Keeping her eyes open was becoming incredibly difficult. Each time she opened them, the force of the air dried them out so much that she quickly closed them again. Emma was reaching out with her arms, desperate to grab ahold of something – anything – to stop or at least slow her descent into…god only knows what. After minutes of panic-stricken groping, she had come up empty handed. Just how long had she been falling? How far? She had no idea.

Attempting to open her eyes once more, she saw a brilliant light. Warm, welcoming…comforting. She wasn't scared anymore, she felt relieved. There was something more than an eternal vortex of darkness. She fell into the light with a smile on her face.

Emma gasped and shot straight up in bed. Her heart was pounding a mile per minute and her breathing came in overexerted pants. The thin layer of sweat had returned to coat her skin once more. It took a long time to get her breathing under control and once she finally did, Emma looked around the unfamiliar room, completely forgetting for a moment that she was in Regina's house.

"Regina…" Emma whispered to the empty room. She then shook her head in disbelief. "I've been spending way too much time indulging Henry in all this Operation Cobra business," Emma laughed at herself, laying an arm across her head and closing her eyes once more.

In the next room, Regina was wide awake. She had allowed herself only the necessary amount of sleep to rejuvenate her mind. And when she awoke, the blonde was sleeping just as deeply as Henry was. It was habit to check in on Henry, no matter what time she awoke during the night. Some might say it's overprotective, but Regina just wanted to make sure he was safe. Though she highly doubted anyone would be stupid enough to try to abduct him in the middle of the night from her house. And that same habit extended to the blonde in the room just down the hallway.

When she saw that Sheriff Swan was sleeping so peacefully, Regina knew how easy it would be to invade and control her dreams. She didn't want to, not at first, but then she thought about how much easier it would be this way; to show her the things she so desperately wanted to say but just couldn't find it in herself to do so. It was too painful to relive the memories over and over. Not to mention each time she visited these particular memories, her hatred for Snow grew greater and greater.

Letting her hatred for Snow White get the best of her, Regina wasted no time infiltrating the mind of the sleeping Sheriff. To show Emma her story. Through her eyes. To make Emma see. To make her understand.

Regina briefly touched Emma's forehead and imagined the exact moment she wanted Emma to see. She felt her powers tingling underneath her flesh as they osmosed from her fingertips into Emma's brain.

"Sweet dreams, Savior," Regina whispered and placed her lips gently on the crown of Emma's head.

It had only been about a half hour or so when Regina heard the blonde stirring about in the room next to hers. She smiled in satisfaction upon hearing the blonde blame her dreams on Henry's storybook.


	8. Early Morning Preparations

**Author's Note: I know it's been a long time since I've updated this story, things are just so crazy right now; in both my professional and personal life. But I'm going to try to start updating weekly from here on out. I'll probably be posting weekly updates on Sunday's. As always, please let me know what you guys think about everything so far. I know a lot things still probably don't make sense but within the next few chapters I should have everything explained.**

* * *

**Chapter Eight: Early Morning Preparations**

There was a checklist no shorter than a mile long compiled in the Mayor's savvy mind. She had much to do today and could only hope that she would be met with minimal complications as she worked meticulously to complete each task. As a woman who knew how to get things done quickly and seemingly effortlessly, the Mayor was sure she could accomplish all her necessary tasks before the unconscious blonde taking up residence in the next room returned to the waking world. It's times like these when Regina was truly thankful for her adroit mind and manipulative tendencies.

First order of business: getting Henry out of harms way. The thought made her stomach turn in a most subfuscous manner. Only one other thought in her entire life was capable of manifesting such a similar physical reaction. And for the Evil Queen…that's saying a lot. Through all of the heartless acts and unspeakable murders committed with her own two hands, none of that wretchedness affected her - in quite the way the memory of having her true love slaughtered mercilessly, as if he were nothing more than a swine festering with disease right before her eyes – affected her. That particular moment irrevocably changed her heart. It had hardened and subsequently frozen over, now resembling nothing more than a jagged chunk of ice sepulchered within her chest.

Regina found in quite peculiar, ironic, an satisfying all at the same time that the act which caused such an exorbitant upheaval in her life is now the very act which she took much pleasure bestowing upon others. She deserved happiness, but the moment it was stolen from her, Regina swore that she would stop at nothing to condemn every single person to the same fate. If she couldn't be happy then no one would be.

How many times had she heard phrases along the lines of "life isn't fair" and that "time heals all wounds"? Far too many. And with every time she head those words, the darkness in her heart would only grow as she was once again reminded of a happiness that she'd never have. Time never heals wounds; sometimes the contusions never really fade at all. Instead they remain as ugly blotches – throbbing reminders that the pain is all too real. Sure, a little cover-up here and there could momentarily hide the pain from the world. But there was always a time, sooner or later, where she'd be alone once again and during those moments, cover-up did nothing to stop those bruises from shining through.

Life isn't fair. A brutal lesson she had learned at such a young age. A lesson she so savagely taught to thousands of others, just as innocent as she was, out of spite. A lesson she tried everyday to protect her son from learning.

Henry.

Although Regina's position of power may lead an ignorant outsider to believe that there would be a plethora of adoring townsfolk ready to acquiesce to her every request with a smile on their faces, there was nothing further from the truth. As it is, the brunettes callousness has rendered her friendless – for lack of a better word. Even though she could very easily force the responsibility of caring for Henry onto anyone she wished, Regina knew better. When matters involved her son and his well-being, she was loathe to rely on such Machiavellian or, otherwise, guileful methods. No, she needed someone with a kind heart and a genuine desire to aid her. Someone with no ulterior motives or inclinations to use Henry against her.

_Someone like Snow White?_

Regina snarled as even the thought left a putrid taste in her mouth. She stomped that thought right into the ground before it spread like wildfire. Over her dead body would Snow White be getting her grubby little paws on her child for even a minute longer than the school day.

There was one other person Regina could…trust. Okay, so trust might be stretching the description of her notions towards this particular person. But that was the best way for her mind to deduce that there was one other person that she wouldn't resolutely despise watching Henry for an extended period of time. One person, and perhaps the only in Storybrooke, that ever considered Regina as a friend. Kathryn Nolan.

So those were her options? The life-destroying, dwarf-befriending, love-sick Snow White or the self-absorbed, genteel princess from a positively trifling kingdom?

_Slim pickings, Madame Mayor. Perhaps a bit of benevolence on your behalf would prove to be beneficial._

Regina dialed Kathryn's number from her cell phone, feeling slightly bad when the blonde woman's sleep-encumbered voice answered on the other line. She had, of course, apologized for the early disturbance but quickly went to work spilling lies right from her mouth. Luckily for her, Kathryn didn't question a word of her story and agreed to watch Henry for the week.

Much to the Mayor's surprise, Kathryn had been quite enthusiastic at the prospect of having Henry for the week. She confessed that the house had become far too lonely since David had moved out and that having the little ball of energy around would be just the thing to cheer her up. Regina was grateful but even her temporary elation wasn't enough to quell the turmoil she was feeling at relinquishing her child to another woman's care.

Regina set to work packing up a small suitcase full of clothes for Henry. She moved silently about his room, occasionally pausing to cast loving glances at her sleeping child. Each time she did, her lips turned upwards into a small smile and she reminded herself how thankful she was to have Henry in her life. She knew, as a mother, she needed to do what was best for him. And for what she hoped to accomplish over the next week with the irksome Sheriff, she knew Henry shouldn't be around to witness it. She couldn't affirm his suspicions that she truly is the Evil Queen. But if she were successful in her endeavors for the week, then she would never have to worry about the truth coming out again.

Dawns first light was beginning to flood the horizon when Regina finally placed the suitcase in the foyer. Henry would be waking up soon, his body being accustomed to rising early for school during the week and for cartoons on the weekends. Regina made her way back up the stairs intending to take a deliciously hot shower before explaining to Henry that he'd be spending the next week at Kathryn's. She knew he wouldn't be happy about it but eventually he would come to understand that her actions were to protect him.

As she walked noiselessly through the hallway, Regina found herself stopped in front of the closed door of the guest bedroom where the Sheriff was still sleeping. At least, she figured the blonde was still sleeping. Pushing her ear to the door, the absence of noise confirmed her suspicions. And when she should have simply walked away, Regina found her fingers reaching out and grasping the bronze door handle. The Mayor clicked her tongue in annoyance, finding it disturbing that she subconsciously felt the need to check in on the younger woman as if she were a sick child. Then again, in some ways the Sheriff was just that – a sick child.

Emma was sleeping, sprawled out on her stomach with the covers twisted around her legs. Her long arms were tucked neatly underneath the pillow and golden hair fanned out from her head in every which way. Although Emma's head was turned away from Regina, the older woman had no doubt that Emma was sleeping not so peacefully, as if the tangled sheets and displaced limbs weren't proof of that enough, the younger woman was making reticent whimpers that Regina was not privy to from her previous position behind the closed door. She smirked before exiting the room and making her way to her intended destination.

* * *

"But mom! I don't understand why I have to go!" Henry whined as he scooped up a spoonful of cereal and dumped it back into the bowl, an act of pure petulance.

"What if I told you that I'm working on a surprise for you?" Regina asked, a dazzling smile gracing her lips. She took her place at the table across from Henry and proceeded to pop a blueberry in her mouth.

"I wouldn't believe you," Henry shrugged and pushed his untouched cereal to the center of the table.

"Oh, Henry, but I am. And I don't want you to see it before it's done, sweetie." Regina's voice cracked at Henry's disbelief in her. "You're going to love it, you'll see."

"Why can't I just stay with Emma?"

Regina pursed her lips. "Miss Swan is a very busy woman."

"And you hate her." Henry pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I don't hate Miss Swan, Henry…" Regina spoke quietly, looking her son directly in the eyes.

"Then why do you act like you do?"

"It's complicated," Regina started, looking down at her small plate of various fruits. Then she looked back up at him with a smile. "Let's make a deal."

Henry looked at her slightly confused. "Okay?"

"If you do this me, if you stay with Miss Nolan for the week, then I promise, I'll show you that I really don't hate Miss Swan. How does that sound? Fair?" Regina said, smiling the whole time.

"Really!?" Henry all but yelped. His eyes had gone wide, causing his eyebrows to temporarily become hidden underneath his sleep-mussed hair. Regina nodded her head. That's all it took. Henry came running around the table to her so rapidly and caught her in a tight embrace before she realized what was happening. Regina's own arms snaked around the little boys body and held him tightly for a moment before he pulled away.

"Now, go get your shower and I'll clean up down here then we'll go."

Henry nodded and skipped out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the bathroom. She heard the familiar groaning of the pipes as water rushed through them, signaling that Henry had obeyed her and got himself into the shower. A menacing smile replaced the loving one she had put on for Henry. Everything so far was going just as she'd hoped.

* * *

The time was nearing seven in the morning when Regina knocked on the door of Kathryn's quaint colonial house. Henry was standing silently at her side, his brow furrowed and tongue poking out between his lips, completely engrossed in what appeared to be a grueling battle taking place on his handheld video game.

Kathryn answered the door, still in her sleepwear and a mug of coffee in her hand. "Would you like some, I just brewed it a moment ago," Kathryn offered with a smile.

"No, but thank you. And thank you for this – for watching Henry – you're truly a good friend," Regina spoke in her politicians voice that seemed to have a brainwashing effect on everybody in town.

"It's no problem, really."

Regina lowered herself so that she was eye level with Henry and gave him a quick hug and kiss.

"Be good, okay? And call me if you need anything. I love you." Regina gave him a kiss on the cheek then rose to her feet once more, looking back at the blonde woman in her sky blue pajama set. "Call me if you have any questions or if you need anything. Thanks again."

Kathryn gave Regina a friendly smile and ushered Henry inside before closing the door behind them. Not allowing her overprotective thoughts get the best of her, Regina quickly turned away from the house and got into her car, ready to continue on with her plan. She glanced at her watch which calculated the time to be 7:15am.

"Perfect," Regina said to herself as she pulled away from the front of Kathryn's house and meandered down the residential streets until she arrived at Mary Margaret's loft. By now the schoolteacher would be at Granny's, sipping on a cup of hot tea and pretending to read one of those frilly love novels as she attempted to catch a few quick glances of David as he ordered his coffee before heading off to the animal shelter. Regina cringed at the lovesick woman and parked her sleek Mercedes a few houses from Mary Margaret's.

It had been a long time since Regina had been in Mary Margaret's flat, but not much had changed. The place was a little messier than she remembered. But Regina quickly wrote that off as collateral damaged due to the Sheriff taking up residence in the too-small flat. Taking advantage of the time she had, Regina stalked around the first floor of the apartment, looking for nothing in particular but simply wishing to gather as much knowledge about the Swan woman as she could.

After a few moments though, the only noteworthy thing on the entire first floor was a picture of the Mayor herself, taken after her election to office last year, taped up on the back of the door. Painted above her picture in slanted, but otherwise intelligible font, were the words 'Down with the Queen'. Upon closer inspection of the photo, Regina could see hundreds of little tiny holes in the paper, with the majority of them gathered on her face. The culprits of the holes were still protruding from the soft wooden door a few inches to the left of the photo.

Rage sweltered within her heart and her lips curled with hatred. Had they been back in the Enchanted Forest, the Evil Queen would have sentenced them to be hung for their crimes of treason. Sadly, in the real world, people could not be sentenced to death for throwing darts at a photo. Controlling her desire to rip down the defaced photo, Regina stalked away with a huff of irritation and climbed the creaky stairs in search of the Sheriff's bedroom.

Not like it was difficult to find, seeing as how the upstairs had only three doors; one to the bathroom, one to a bedroom, and one to a small hallway closet. Emma's room was small, but judging by the lack of items within the room, the size of the room probably didn't bother the woman all that much. The closest in the room as completely devoid of clothing, and instead made a home for a multitude of damaged brown boxes, all sealed and stacked neatly.

Although Regina was insatiably curious about the contents of those mysterious boxes, she knew today was not the day to be going through them. She had come here with one purpose, and that was to gather enough of Emma's clothes to last her a week or so. Pulling her gaze away from those boxes that were practically begging to be opened, Regina circled around the twin bed and began rifling through the drawers of the dresser. But drawer after drawer afforded her with no clothing.

Finding that she was becoming irrationally pissed off with the Swan woman once more, Regina threw her hands up in exasperation and scanned the nearly empty bedroom. Nothing. If it weren't for the boxes in the closet and the sleep-ravished bed sheets, one could assume that this room was entirely vacant.

Maybe it was laundry day, Regina found herself trying to reason. Though for the life of her she couldn't understand why someone would wait until the absolute last minute to wash clothes. Then again, she was talking about Emma Swan and if anyone were to put something off to the last minute, it would be Emma. Then Regina found herself wondering if the women even had a washer and dryer in the tiny flat or if they had to go to the Laundromat to wash them. She supposed that she'd just have to wait until the blonde awoke later in the day to find out.

One last glance around the empty room and Regina was back out into the hallway. Unable to relinquish her curiosity, Regina opened the closet door at the end of the hallway and found nothing but cleaning supplies of all sorts. To be honest, the Mayor had no idea what she was looking for. She supposed it boiled down to sheer curiosity and yet the darkness in her told a different tale. She was looking because she was nervous. Having already seen her picture being used as a dartboard, Regina was that she would find some well drawn out plans for her assassination or something equivalently ludicrous.

_Paranoia looks good on you._

_Shut up._

Call it paranoid, call it obsessive, call it what you will, but Regina preferred to think of it as being armed with information. Intelligence is power. Knowing what you're up against and how the odds are stacked, knowing what people are planning or thinking or thinking of planning, knowing who is on your side, who you can trust, and who will be a problem, knowing all of these things is the key to winning. Without intelligence, you might as well go through life blindfolded.

Regina pushed open the door to the bathroom and nearly ran face first into it when it only opened a few inches. She pushed against it again, but the door wouldn't open. Finally, she braced her shoulder against the door and attempted to open it once more. She was allowed a few more inches; just enough for her to slip inside. Once inside, it didn't take long for her to understand why the door refused to budge more than a few inches.

Towering behind the door was a pile of what seemed to be all of Emma's clothes. All balled up and tossed carelessly on top of one another. Inside out socks were scattered all over the floor of the bathroom along with crumpled shirts and pants with belts still nestled securely in the loops of denim. It was appalling and Regina turned up her nose in distaste.

Regina was yet again reminded of Emma's barbaric behavior and she swore that if Emma was not _her _savior, then she would've left the pile of filth where she found it. And even as Regina was loathe to admit it, Emma was her savior. She needed her. More importantly, she needed Emma to trust her.


	9. Dealing with Dirt

**Author's Note: Originally this chapter was about twice the length but I didn't realize it at first as I've been handwriting this story in my math notebook. Anyway, I broke it into two sections to make it a little easier to digest. As always, I love to hear all of your feedback; the good and the bad. Thank you all so much for continuing to read this. Sending love to each and every one of you :)**

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**Chapter Nine: Dealing with Dirt**

Leave it to Emma Swan to unknowingly but effectively ruin Regina's well thought out plans for the morning. It should have been as simple as throwing some clothes in a bag then moving right along. But no. Now, Regina had to literally do the blondes dirty laundry. Such a task is fit for a peasant, not a queen. Regina's lip was upturned at the simple thought of the demeaning task set before her. Nevertheless, the dutiful Mayor wasted no time in shoveling handfuls of dirty laundry into a large trash bag, while mumbling a long strain of expletives not so quietly.

Within moments, Regina was lugging the bulging bag down the stairs and into her car. She was glad that for once she parked so near to Mary Margaret's dingy apartment. Normally she favored parking down the block, fearing that perhaps some of the dilapidation of the old building would infect her car but today Regina simply did not have time for her meticulousness.

Forgoing her previous plan to confront Jefferson about his poison once more, Regina instead drove the opposite way back to her manor on Mifflin Street.

Jefferson, for one, should have known better. Especially after that last little stunt he pulled. 28 years of frozen time. To an outsider, it may seem like a lifetime. 28 years of life and one should have graduated from college, become successful in their chosen career, and even have begun a family. 28 years and all Jefferson had accomplished was wasting his time away with those ridiculous costumes and noxious potions. 28 years and Regina should have known better.

Within the first three years of their cursed lives, Jefferson had made it clearer than vodka that he knew about the curse. He remembered _everything_ from his previous life, including his daughter Grace that the Evil Queen so savagely ripped away from him. He swore that he'd make her pay for her sins but Regina merely laughed in his face. In this land and the last, Jefferson was nothing short of mad. The more she thought it about, the more she cursed herself for not putting the man safely in a padded cell upon arrival to the new land.

_Perhaps right next to that insufferable Belle._

* * *

Two hours passed and the blonde was still sound asleep. In that moment, Emma couldn't have appeared more ethereal if she had tried. The serenity of the scene before her was not lost upon Regina. And yet, she attempted to push the thoughts from her mind, refusing to deal with them. The disturbing dreams seemed to have passed, if Emma's being wrapped in a cocoon of sheets wasn't testament enough to that observation. She looked…much younger without the crease between her brows and the frown of her lips.

Regina stood at the edge of the bed, watching as Emma's chest rose and fell softly in her sleep. A small smile found its way onto the Mayor's stoic face as she felt suddenly very _domestic_ standing at the edge of the bed, folding the sleeping woman's overwhelming amount of white tank tops, with decades of expertise.

_Nice work burying those thoughts Your Majesty._

Regina shook her head, walking away from the bed to deposit the clean clothes in neat stacks on top of the dresser. Unbeknownst to her, Emma's eyes parted slightly, watching Regina as she crossed back and forth from the bed to the dresser.

"Morning," Emma croaked. Regina's back stiffened at the sounds of Emma's scratchy morning voice.

"Miss Swan," she spoke curtly. "How are you feeling?"

Emma stretched, raising her arms above her head and lifting her torso from the bed, twisting and turning in ways that would impress even the most elite contortionist.

"Just tired," Emma yawned. "And hungry," she added as her stomach wasted no time complaining – quite audibly - of its empty state.

"I have an errand to run," Regina said, turning around to face the blonde. "Would you like for me to pick up lunch from Granny's?" she asked, crossing slowly to the bed where Emma still lie. When she looked into Emma's sleep enraptured eyes, she was met with a guarded look of suspicion.

"Uhh, sure…thanks?" Emma managed to say.

The response Emma received was one of those dazzling Mayor Mills smiles, as Regina lowered herself onto the bed. She slowly, tentatively, brought her hand closer to Emma.

"What are you do-"

"Checking your temperature," Regina cut Emma off before she could finish her question.

Regina's hand was cool on the blonde's mildly feverish skin. Emma found herself shutting her eyes and relaxing slightly under the Mayor's surprisingly gentle touch. The entire scenario was oddly intimate which caused a bit of discomfort to swell in Emma's gut. It felt…wrong. This was not how Emma Swan and Regina Mills interacted. Theirs was a relationship focused on one-upmanship and bickering. And this? Well, this was just a hop, skip, and jump over the line.

"I told you." Emma whispered. "I feel fine."

Regina snorted in amusement, but still Emma couldn't open her eyes, too afraid to look into the Mayor's chocolate orbs. Too afraid to see what emotions lie there. Too afraid to face that look of condescension that Regina wore far too often.

"Forgive me if I don't take your word, dear." Regina said, removing her hand from Emma and standing once more. "It wouldn't be the first time you've lied to me. Probably won't be the last."

Emma chuckled briefly, opening her eyes but not looking at the woman standing above her.

"Yeah, you're probably right," she agreed without hesitation. "But don't you act like you're all innocent over there."

Regina didn't respond. She couldn't. Aside from either insulting the other woman, what could she really say? Emma was right. Regina lied. A lot. Practically every hour of every day. Hell, her whole existence in this depressingly mediocre town was a god damn lie. Emma would understand that soon enough. But until then, Regina had to place all the pieces on the board. One little piece out of place would be disastrous. One insubordinate pawn was all that was necessary to bring her carefully calculated plans hurtling from the stratosphere.

Emma noticed the emotions running through Regina's dark eyes, shifting slightly so that she was sitting up against the headboard and doing her best to ignore the stiffness of her muscles.

"You okay?" she questioned. Both women were acutely aware of the absurdity of their current situation however neither of them spoke of it. The entire ordeal was so awkward that even if they wanted to speak about it, neither of them would even know where to start. So it had become a silent understanding to not comment about it. Not yet, at least.

"Just fine, dear." Regina responded after a long beat of silence. She forced a smile in which she hoped appeared more convincing that it felt. "I'll be back within the hour. Do us both a favor and try not to do anything stupid."

"No promises, Madame Mayor."

Regina rolled her eyes and crossed the room to the door. After only a few footsteps she heard Emma call out her name. With a sigh and unspoken curse, Regina turned around, flicking her hair from her face and looking rather impatiently at the blonde.

"Yes, Miss Swan?"

"I uh…just…thank you."

Regina's features lightened instantly. She was definitely not expecting that. Something was gnawing away deep inside that hard little heart she possessed. In that moment, Regina found herself caught so off guard that she didn't even trust herself to respond. Instead she practically rushed from the room, growing more and more uncomfortable with the nagging feeling in her chest. Simple words, with simple meaning but it seemed like so much more. Regina had left the scene so quickly that she missed the single tear fall from Emma's eye.

* * *

Parking her flashy Benz out front of the dreary corner store, Regina readjusted her Prada sunglasses before exiting the car. She took note of the dilapidated sign stretching across the storefront which read in large, childlike block letters 'Cheshire Clothing Company'. The windows were in an equal state of disarray and appeared not to have been washed for many years. Even from behind her tinted shades, Regina could easily see the caked on grime from the salty air and exhaust fumes. Her nose crinkled with disgust as she pushed her way through the front doors and silently questioned why her day seemed to revolve around the single theme of dirtiness.

The inside of the shop was no more inviting than the outside. Shelves and racks of clothing were stocked with intricately crafted clothing options, from dresses to hats and everything in between. Along the right wall was an array of too-short skirts and too-tight shirts. It became all too clear that Miss Lucas did her fair share of shopping in this seedy little blemish in Regina's otherwise picturesque town. She walked slowly to the counter at the back of the store, staring intently at the man who seemed unaware of her presence. His back was turned as he dusted off the well-illuminated shelves which were home to dozens of mannequin heads, each proudly sporting some eclectic hat.

"Jefferson," Regina purred.

"Ahh, Your Majesty," The man replied without the decency to turn and face her. "I was wondering when you'd pop in for a visit."

"Oh my dear Jefferson, I would have hoped you'd learned from your mistakes."

"Whatever do you mean?" Jefferson turned around with a cocky grin on his face.

Regina, however, was not amused in the least. She huffed and pulled out the pint size bottle from her purse, slamming it on the glass counter top.

"Don't play stupid with me, Hatter. You know exactly why I'm here."

"Oh, dear," Jefferson's tone changed to sound more concerned than he felt. "Someone must have stolen that from my stash. Shame, though, I really ought to be more careful with my belongings." He shrugged.

Regina slammed her hand on the counter, feeling the rage boiling under her skin.

"Cut the shit, Jefferson." She warned. "I've got no time for your games."

If he was intimidated by her power, Jefferson surely didn't show it. "Don't tell me someone was unfortunate enough to drink this?" he questioned, not even trying to hide his amusement.

"I'm warning you," Regina sneered, leaning over the counter. "There is no one here to stop me from ripping your worthless heart from your chest and crushing it between my fingers."

Jefferson considered this more a moment. Taking a step back and crossing his arms, the once beheaded man threw his head back and cackled in delight.

"Okay, Your Majesty, I confess…I may have suggested to an ignorant, defenseless, and slightly intoxicated person to give it a try. It tastes like butterscotch you know?"

"The reminder is unnecessary." Regina snarled.

Jefferson clapped his hands together. "That's right! I had completely forgotten that you've had the pleasure of tasting The Wonder Land. Tell me, did you enjoy your trip?"

A wave of magic surged through the room as Regina's anger boiled over. Jefferson looked slightly taken aback as the ground beneath them trembled with power.

"Enough!" Regina yelled. "Give me the antidote."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Your Majesty."

"So help me god I will lock you away for the rest of your days Hatter!"

"As if I'm not already imprisoned!?" He yelled with exasperation and arms circling wide. But then he just smiled and looked at the Mayor once more. "So I take it our dear Sheriff drank the contents then?" he asked in a gleefully childish tone. When Regina averted her eyes, the mad man cackled loudly once more.

"You are insane." Regina spat as she tried to squelch the anger resonating within her. "You poisoned an innocent woman!"

Jefferson laughed. "Oh how the tables have turned. I daresay the irony of this situation is particularly humorous."

"Snow White was _not_ an innocent woman."

"Perhaps," Jefferson reasoned, not really caring for justification. "But the way I see it, Emma Swan has a job to do. A job which she clearly doesn't believe in. I am merely speeding up the process." He shrugged. "Tell me, Your Majesty, has she gone insane yet? Has she attempted to strangle you for all the wickedness you wrought on so many innocent and undeserving people?"

"That is not your business nor is it any of your concern."

"Fair enough. I'll tell you what, how about you and I come to an agreement then?"

Regina laughed, waving her hand to dismiss the ridiculous notion. "I've already had the displeasure of making one too many deals in my lifetime. Why do you think I'd ever consider making one with you?"

"Because Madame Mayor, I'm willing to put my head on the chopping block to say that this is a deal you won't be able to refuse."

* * *

Her body ached, and as hard as she tried, Emma was unsuccessful in finding a comfortable position to lie in ever since she awoke. Her mind was exhausted, even after the many hours of sleep she had gotten. Regardless, she felt as though she hadn't slept in days.

With no relief from her dull, aching muscles, Emma laid sprawled out in the center of the bed, staring at the ceiling and idly twiddling her fingers to the beat of silence. Bored beyond tears, Emma suddenly wished she had her cell phone; a well-played round of Bejeweled would definitely ward away the boredom. But as she glanced at the bedside table, finding no phone, Emma exhaled and irritated sigh and flopped her head back onto the pillow. She'd have to wait until Regina got back because hell if she really felt like searching through the room for her device. Not with the way her muscles were aching right now.

Regina…

Still torn between fantasy and reality, Emma struggled to make sense of their brief exchange not so many minutes ago. Was she truly being nice? Surely not. Regina Mills was many things; intelligent, quick-witted, damn good looking, and dedicated. But she was not nice.

So then what the hell is up with her playing caretaker all of the sudden? Regina absolutely despised Emma. So why go through all the trouble to take care of her. As Mayor, surely Regina has more important things to be doing. Like managing an entire fucking town for starters. Why not just drop Emma at Mary Margaret's doorstep and call it a day?

As confounding as the situation was, Emma couldn't help but feel slightly happy with the way things turned out. Seeing Regina like this made Emma realize that she too, is human. And if actions truly spoke louder than words, well then Regina was practically screaming at the top of her lungs. Maybe, she wasn't as bad as people make her out to be. Perhaps no one can – or cares – to see past her cold exterior.

Emma could understand why people wouldn't want to. Hell, the woman runs Storybrooke with an iron fist. No one in their right mind would approach the aloof woman and ask her over for a night of jolly good shenanigans. Then again, Emma understood why Regina ran the town the way she does. Authority doesn't come easy and – 21st century or not – it comes even harder for a woman.

It was then that Emma realized there is so much more to the raging brunette than people cared to find out. The alleged evil woman had opened her home – albeit grudgingly – but she nonetheless afforded Emma with a safe haven in this mess. She helped break her out of a terrifying and humiliating hallucination. She even cracked a joke. And now? She had, of her own accord, retrieved and washed all of Emma's clothes and then offered to get her lunch. An evil woman would do no such thing.

Emma hated the fact that she needed a caretaker. She was a stubbornly independent woman, damn it! She didn't need anybody. Yet she so eagerly welcomed it from the one woman who was practically her mortal enemy. Emma closed her eyes, too exhausted to ponder the subject further. Seconds later, however, her eyes opened once more.

"Fuck," she muttered as she threw the blanket off of her aching body.

* * *

"You really expect me to agree to this?" Regina inquired, raising one eyebrow to further emphasize the incredulity of Jefferson's proposal.

"I do."

"Well then you're even more of an idiot than I originally assumed."

"This is the way a deal should work. Both parties should receive something…beneficial."

Regina smiled that famed politician smile.

"I don't need to make a deal with a lowly miscreant such as yourself to gain the benefit you're offering."

"I urge you to reconsider. This poison will show Emma the truth. She will realize her role as the Savior and she will break your curse. And with any luck, she'll add your neck to the list of things to break." Jefferson hissed.

Regina took a moment before answering. She leaned in, inches away from Jefferson's face.

"You're right about one thing, Hatter. Miss Swan will learn the truth and she will realize her role as the Savior," Regina smiled. "She will be _my_ Savior."


	10. Mirror Trap

**Author's Note: Posting this a day late because I was overcome with so many SwanQueen feels after last night's airing of Good Form. Sorry about that! But here it is. As always, I love to hear from you guys and will do my best to respond to all of you. Thanks so much for all of the support you're giving this story!**

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Mirror Trap**

Before Jefferson could react, he felt an incredible burning from within his chest. His mocking eyes filled with tears as they traveled slowly down his torso. Regina's arm was extended straight into his chest as his own rib cage greedily swallowed the Mayor's entire hand. She was smiling wickedly as her fingers teased the outline of Jefferson's rapidly beating heart.

It had been far too long since Regina felt a living, beating heart in her hands. Her powers trembled beneath her skin as a wave of unseen magic swept through the room. It wasn't long before the seductiveness of her dark powers consumed her and teasing fingers tightened around Jefferson's beating organ that was so vulnerable and so ripe for the picking.

"No...p-please, Your Majesty…" Jefferson begged.

But Regina merely laughed at his patheticism. She had forgotten just how much she absolutely loved doing this. She loved the steady allegro beating of the vital organ in her hand. She loved the whimpers and pleas falling from her victims lips. But above all, she loved watching fear overtake her victims as they realize just how stupid it was to double-cross the Evil Queen; the fear when they realize their inevitable demise.

Paying the whimpering mad man's cries no attention, Regina savagely ripped his heart straight from its secured position behind his rib cage The man with a once severed head crumbled to a heap behind the counter. Regina allowed Jefferson a few brief seconds to adjust to the newfound emptiness within him.

"You...fucking...bitch!" Jefferson spat between labored breaths as he pulled himself from the floor to stand before his Queen once more.

Instead of speaking, Regina just smiled and gave his a heart a little squeeze and Jefferson

doubled over onto the counter, clutching at his empty chest as more tears fell from his eyes.

"Is that any way to address your Queen?" She chided with a click of her tongue.

"You are...no Queen of mine."

Regina squeezed just a little harder, causing Jefferson to fall to the floor again.

"That's right," Regina cooed. "Kneel before your Queen like a good boy. Now, are you ready to cooperate?"

"Yes," Jefferson begrudgingly muttered through clenched teeth.

"Fetch me the antidote, pet," Regina demanded, releasing her grip ever so slightly on the man's heart.

"I...can't."

Regina squeezed, growing tired of this game.

"Ugh..I...I don't have one!" Jefferson cried out, still grasping helplessly at his chest.

"What!?" Regina yelled. Magic crackled around her with the insurgence of her rage.

"I - fuck - can you stop ahh squeezing so hard? Please, Your Majesty…"

Against her better judgment, Regina released her grip on Jefferson's heart and immediately the man began gasping for the air. Sweat coated his face as his labored breaths produced wisps of fog on the cool glass countertop.

"I'm sorry, perhaps I misunderstood. Did you say that you don't have an antidote?" Regina regarded the beating heart in her hand with little interest now that it's rhythm had slowed to a dull humdrum.

"You didn't misunderstand, Your Majesty," The words came out as a soft whisper. "I used the last of my ingredients to make the poison," Jefferson admitted.

The rage inside Regina was building again; boiling furiously as Jefferson's admissions pushed her further and further into the darkness - closer and closer to the precipice of no control. 28 years in a land with no magic really did a number on her ability to control her powers. She narrowed her eyes and grabbed the miserable man by his ridiculous scarf.

"You dare to trick me? You really are incredibly stupid, Hatter," Regina pushed him backwards into the shelves causing many of the mannequin heads to tumble to the floor.

"P-please my Queen, if death is my fate please do it now," Jefferson begged.

Regina walked behind the counter, carefully depositing Jefferson's heart into her purse and making a mental note to have it dry cleaned later during the week. She sauntered right up to the sniveling man, bringing her hand to stroke his trembling cheek.

"No, pet. I have a much worse fate than death in store for you," Regina purred, dragging her fingernail along his jawline. "You, my dear Hatter, will never, ever have your daughter. She will never know you. And you…" Regina laughed. "You will spend the rest of your meaningless existence as my pet, my slave. For the rest of you days, you will be endlessly tortured, watching Grace grow up with a family that it not her own. You will watch her be happy without you. That...is your fate."

Without another glance, Regina whisked out of the Hatter's shop, her purse made heavier with Jefferson's beating heart and bottle of poison she snatched before leaving. For a moment she felt incredibly proud of herself. Stealing his heart was the less desirable path but it was the only way. Well, technically, she could've just killed the bastard but murder in this world is just too messy. Too much paperwork to deal with. No, stealing his heart and locking it away with the hundreds of others would do just fine for the time being.

It goes without saying that Regina's morning was going about as smooth as sandpaper. She wasted a considerable amount of time washing, drying, and folding Emma's clothes. Now, she had to make yet another unexpected stop at her father's mausoleum to safely store the heart of the Mad Hatter. She'd been gone much longer than she wanted and she still had to stop at Granny's to grab lunch for the ailing Sheriff.

When Regina finally arrived at Granny's she hurried inside and snapped her fingers to get Ruby's attention which was currently invested in a rowdy table of dwarves; chatting and cajoling about something Regina imagined to be incredibly mundane. But just like a good little dog, Ruby showed up within seconds with her pen and pad to take the Mayor's order.

"The usual, Madame Mayor?" Ruby asked, chewing obnoxiously on a stick of Big Red cinnamon gum.

"Yes, Miss Lucas, and add a chicken tender platter with honey mustard."

Ruby eyed the Mayor up and down but proceeded to jot down her order before turning around and traipsing to the kitchen window.

"Oh and Miss Lucas?" Regina called after the waitresses retreating form. Ruby turned around and walked back to Regina. "Do show some manners and close your mouth when you chew. One might think you were raised by a pack of wolves with the way you're chomping away on the gum."

Ruby rolled her eyes and made a spectacle of chewing even louder just to spite the properly mannered woman sitting before her.

Regina rested impatiently on the barstool, glancing at the clock practically every 15 seconds. Why was she feeling so on edge all of the sudden? Although she didn't want to admit it, Regina knew it was because of Emma. It just didn't make sense. She shouldn't care what happens to the blonde life-wrecker. In fact, it would be more than ideal if the woman just keeled over and died. Especially since she could make Jefferson fess up to poisoning her. Kill two birds with one stone - or lie - as the saying goes.

But even still, the thought of allowing that to happen gave way to an unpleasant feeling somewhere in the untouched recesses of her mind. Refusing to dwell on it, for fear of what she might find, Regina chalked it up to her newfound plan for the Savior. If anything were to happen to Emma now, everything she was doing would be in vain.

That's right, just think happy thoughts.

Ruby sauntered back over with Regina's order all boxed and bagged to go just a few moments later. In turn, Regina fished out a twenty from her clutch and handed it to the waitress, instructing her to keep the change - which was far more than what the harlot deserved.

Making haste to get back home, Regina swarmed through the door of Granny's with eyes focused on the clock once more. She collided, quite roughly, with another hurried body entering the diner. Both women audibly gasped as they felt the pain of the impact in their offending shoulders.

"Watch where you're going!" Regina snarled, tearing her eyes from the clock to come face-to-face with an embarrassed looking Mary Margaret.

Oh for the love of god!

"Mayor Mills!" The schoolteacher uttered. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking, are you okay?" Mary Margaret's eyes fell shamefully to the ground.

"I'm fine, now move."

"Of course," Mary Margaret stepped out of the way and watched as the Mayor hurried towards her car. Biting her lip in apprehension, Mary Margaret ran after Regina. "Mayor Mills, could I have a word?"

Regina rolled her eyes. "Make it quick, dear. I'm rather busy at the moment."

Mary Margaret nodded, twisting her fingers as she was unsure of how to approach the topic.

"I got a text from Emma last night," She started, unable to look Regina in the eye. "She said that something came up and that she needed to leave town…"

"I'm sorry, Miss Blanchard, I fail to see how this concerns me," Regina spoke, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well I just didn't know if you knew why," Mary Margaret said sheepishly as she wrung her hands. Regina, however, was not at all ignorant to the woman's soft-spoken insinuations.

"Are you implying that I have something to do with Miss Swan's sudden disappearance?" Regina catechized, stepping further into the schoolteachers personal space.

"No!" Mary Margaret waved her hands wildly in front of her. "Of course not, Madame Mayor. It's just...well...I didn't know if you perhaps heard anything about it is all."

"Rest assured, Miss Blanchard," Regina stared at the pesky virginal woman in front of her. "The whereabouts of Miss Swan are of no importance to me. In fact, nothing would please me more if I never see her again. She has no place here or in the life of my son."

And with that last verbal slap, Regina turned on her heels, leaving Mary Margaret to gape at her in bewilderment. Not even sparing a final glance towards the schoolteacher, Regina pulled away from Granny's diner, making her way towards Mifflin Street.

Moments later Regina was walking through the front door of her manor. Hanging from her left shoulder was her Prada purse and in her right hand was the bag of carryout food from Granny's. She thought for a moment about setting the table for Emma and herself, knowing the formality of it was excessively unnecessary, but she couldn't bring herself to eat in her room; on her bed.

There had been many times in the past - some being relatively recent - when she scolded Henry for eating in his room. Perhaps it wouldn't matter so much if he didn't drop half of the food on his bed or if he remembered to bring his dishes down to the kitchen afterwards. But sadly, the 11-almost-12-year-old couldn't seem to manage that.

Shortly after Emma's appearance in Storybrooke, Regina set about her weekly task of changing the sheets on Henry's bed when a positively foul odor smacked her right in the face. Dry heaving once because of the pungent aroma, Regina pinched her nose and began searching for the culprit of the stench. After systematically inspecting his muddy sneakers and dirty clothes hamper, Regina had failed to locate where the smell was coming from.

It had taken the better part of an hour but Regina finally found what she was looking for. Underneath his bed was the remnants of what Regina could only assume was once a chocolate milkshake. The styrofoam cup from Granny's was half-filled with a vile sludge decorated in varying stages of decaying fungus.

Henry had definitely been grounded for that little stunt. But the punishment was clearly not severe enough to deter him from doing the same thing...again. It wasn't even a month later when Regina discovered a half-eaten, shriveled, and decaying pepperoni pizza under his bed. Only this time there was a note scrawled inside of the lid of the box that read "don't let your mom find out about this one, kid" with a lazy smiley face drawn at the end of the note.

The same thought that had once made Regina furious had now somehow brought a smile to her face as she stood motionless at the bottom of her staircase, completely consumed in her reverie. Reflecting upon the past was not an activity Regina Mills practiced often. Mostly because the majority of her past was comprised of one painful event after another. And so, Regina broke away from her stilled position and began ascending the stairs.

She was met with silence as she approached the door to the guest bedroom much quicker than intended, seeing as she practically sprinted up the stairs without realizing it. Regina turned her lips down into a grimace as she realized her irrational subconscious urgency to get to the guestroom.

The door to the bedroom was still open, just as it was when Regina left a couple hours prior. She walked through the open door while simultaneously rapping on the siding.

"Miss Swan?" She asked. Regina was nothing if not polite and would rather alert Emma of her presence instead of walking in unannounced.

Scanning the room with her eyes, Regina felt her stomach drop as she quickly noticed the lack of a blonde woman in the room. The purse and carryout food were unloaded hastily on top of the dresser as Regina searched through her pockets for her phone. However her plan to phone the Sheriff backfired once she remembered that she had confiscated the other woman's phone the previous night.

Taking a breath to calm her mind, Regina closed her eyes, trying not to imagine the worst case scenario when she heard the unmistakable sound of glass shattering in the adjoining room. Running to the bathroom door without a thought, Regina banged on the door while twisting the handle only to find that it was locked.

"Miss Swan open up this door right now," she yelled frantically still banging on the door. There was no response, no noise, nothing to indicate that anyone was on the other side.

"Emma?" Regina tried again, desperate enough to use the Sheriff's first name. "Emma, open the door, please?"

No response. Nothing. Just complete worrisome silence.

"I swear to god Miss Swan - do not make me break down a door in my own house," Regina swore, her irritation and panic growing as the seconds ticked by.

"This is completely ridiculous," Regina whispered to herself, throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. Though the squall of emotions in her head bordered on vertiginous, Regina struggled for control that she was losing quickly.

Since magic was born from emotion, the Mayor struggled to remain calm, fearing that if she were to use magic on the door right now, it would likely blow off the hinges and splinter into a hundred pieces. That was not something Regina wanted to deal with right now. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, feeling her skin tingle and crawl with power. Once she had a firm control over the power, she flicked her hand in a practiced manner at the door, sending it flying open so hard that it slammed against the bathroom wall but luckily remained on it's hinges.

A look of shock momentarily crossed her face but was quickly replaced with fear as she took in the sight before her. Acting out of instinct, Regina bolted into the bathroom and grabbed the Sheriff by her shoulders, whirling her around so that she was forced to look directly at Regina. Carefully, the Mayor took small steps backwards, bringing Emma with her so as not to trample upon any of the countless shards of blood covered glass on the floor.

"Oh my god, Emma! What have you done!?" Regina wanted to scream, wanted to yell, wanted to slap the blonde across the face. But her voice betrayed her as the words came out as a shaky whisper.

Emma said nothing, she just looked Regina in her eyes with a vacant, lifeless expression. Her eyes were swollen and pink from a long, hard cry and her body was visibly trembling even though her skin was once again coated with a sheen of perspiration. Regina noticed that quickly and brought her hand to the Emma's forehead, pressing it there for a second before removing it turning her attention towards Emma's bloody hands.

Regina's hands were shaking but she tried her best to keep a firm grip on the younger woman's forearms as she looked over the damage Emma had brought upon herself. Embedded in her knuckles, on both hands, were slivers of glass in varying sizes, ripping the flesh apart with every move the blonde made. There were dozens of cuts and gashes adorning her wrists and her forearms as well but thankfully there didn't appear to be any glass in those cuts.

The blood was dripping from her hands, staining the white bathroom floor with her own life essence but Emma barely seemed to notice. Her eyes were glazed over with a murky sheen and Regina watched as silent tears fell from behind her lids. Haunted. That was the only word that came to mind to describe how Emma looked in that moment.

But Regina had little time to dwell on that as she now, once again, had to play caretaker for Emma. Her irritation however was outweighed by her concern and she guided the blonde to sit on the toilet as she searched through the cupboards, collecting all the available towels at her disposal. Within a matter of seconds, Regina had successfully procured a large bucket and filled it with hot water from the bathtub as well as a pair of tweezers, and a smaller cup to deposit the pieces of glass into.

Emma was flexing her fingers, balling them into fists, watching the jagged glass split her skin further.

"Stop doing that, you'll only make it worse," Regina reprimanded her. "This...won't be pleasant but do try to sit still, okay?"

Emma nodded, sniffling, and wanting nothing more than to wipe away her trail of tears with the backs of her hands. Though she didn't quite have the desire to smear blood and glass all over her face which was the only reason she hadn't done so.

"Tell me what happened," Regina said as she gingerly held the blondes right hand with her left and used the tweezers to start pulling out shards of glass from her red-stained flesh. The bigger pieces were the easiest; it was the smaller pieces that would be troublesome. They were hard to see because of all the blood, but Regina didn't want to begin scrubbing her hand if there were any slivers remaining as that could potentially drive them in deeper.

Emma sniffled a few times. "I..I just had to t-take a p-piss."

Regina inwardly cringed at Emma's crassness but chose not to comment on it.

"And so you smashed my mirror?" Regina asked, digging out a deeply embedded piece of glass which caused the blonde to hiss and retract her hand. But Regina's grip was strong. She had pulled one too many splinters out of Henry to know that if you didn't hold them still, they'd pull away like a little baby.

**"I got...stuck...in the mirror," Emma whispered.**


	11. Mirror Mirror on the Wall, You Can't

**Author's Note: And so here we have what transpired with Emma in the mirror. I want to give a HUGE shout-out to Gunner4Life for showing your support and giving me the confidence to continue with this story. So thank you! It really means the world to me :)**

**As always, I own nothing Once Upon A Time related.**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Mirror Mirror on the Wall, You Can't Hide, I See it All**

Emma stood at the very edge of a grassy bluff. The old, weathered trees producing a canopy of leaves above her head, blocking most of the sunlight from washing over her pale skin. She had no idea how she'd gotten here or how long she'd been standing there, but she found that it didn't really matter as she was entirely content just being there. Up here, she could breathe clean air, clear her thoughts, and forget about the dirtiness of the drab city that was now miles beneath her in the distance. She sat in the plush green grass, crossing her legs and absentmindedly fiddling with the laces to her boots as she continued to stare at the city.

The city below looked entirely unfamiliar. There were no iconic buildings or structures that typically defined a city. It was just an endless concrete jungle; corporate offices and high-rise apartment complexes ascending towards the heavens with their bleak, mocking grayscale colors. The urban stalagmites hid from view all of the gridlocked streets meandering through the domineering buildings. Streets that - much like every other city, Emma imagined - were infested with rapists, drug dealers, murderers, and whores.

Beneath all the wretchedness of urban life was a glimmer of hope for people like Emma. The people that wanted nothing more than to exist, unnoticed and faceless. For Emma, the urban jungle was a safe haven with it's dark alleys, chop shops, and abandoned structures. Anonymity was easily achieved in a place where everyone is far too concerned with their own business to even lift their eyes from the ground to look at another person.

And for so many years, Emma did just that; merely existed as a faceless woman lost among the blaring horns and polluted air that was trademark to every city she had ever lived in. And for a while, it was enough to simply exist in such a place. But no longer. Not since that night, so many months ago when a little boy with a foolish grin and bright eyes knocked on her door. Standing at his meager height in the illuminated hallways of her apartment building, Emma found herself staring into the eyes of innocence; eyes that she once had but managed to lose with age.

She didn't know it then, but Henry was to become the first thing ever in her life that would make her crave more than the dirty, lackluster city life.

Now as she looks upon the city below her, a frown crept across her face. Nothing about the harsh air of the city could compare to the purity she felt now. She could practically taste the streets on her tongue as she contemplated the blanket of smog that coiled around the altitudinous structures.

Emma turned away from the city, walking away from the precipice, feeling a little bit lighter with the understanding that she had finally left behind a life that was anything but glamorous - in all manners of speaking.

There was no destination in mind as Emma strolled at a lazy pace through the densely packed forest. Everything was so quiet, save for the merry chirping of birds that remained out of sight and the crunch of earth and fallen twigs underneath her boots. Accompanied by the silence of nature, Emma continued to walk.

And walk.

And walk.

Daylight was waning, painting the sky in a pinkish purple amalgamation, when Emma stepped into a large clearing. The overstretching limbs of the trees gave way, opening up a small hole in their defenses to allow the light of the sky to descend to the ground. The grass was short but unscathed by human intrusions. And in the very center of the clearing was a lake; the water unnaturally clear for its stagnancy.

Curious, Emma walked to the edge of the water, transfixed by the translucent cerulean color. The small watering hole seemed endless in it's depths but from what Emma could tell, hosted no life.

A shadow stirred in the unerring depths that caused Emma to jump back in shock. Becoming super aware of her surroundings, she turned around in a full circle, scanning the treeline for any unannounced guests, here in natures little corner of bliss.

No discernable figures could be identified...but a few forlorn shadows of the trees came close to receiving a verbal assault before Emma was able to discern that they were simply shadows playing tricks on her brain. Satisfied that she was still alone, Emma turned her attention towards the captivating water once more. She squinted her eyes and peered through the surface looking for the figure in the depths. There was nothing, and Emma was quick to write it off as a product of her overactive imagination. Just as she was about to look away, the figured moved with incredible speed from one side of the pond to the other.

"That...was definitely not a shadow," Emma told herself out loud.

Fear gripped her heart as she watched the figure come closer and closer to the surface. But the closer it came, the less nervous she felt. It was strange, like she preternaturally knew that whatever this thing was, it was not a threat.

Emma smiled when the figure finally broke through the surface of the pond, sending droplets of water in every direction. Once the water had settled, a beautiful woman with sorrel hair and eyes floated effortlessly in the middle of the cerulean pool. Her skin, kissed by the sun, was bare as she basked in the encroaching night. A brutish smile parted her lips just enough to flash perfect ivories which laid beyond those sinister lips.

"I was beginning to think you'd never come," The woman purred, turning to float on her back. The calm water lapped at her skin with such gentility. Her breasts were exposed to the night sky and even from the distance, Emma could see the goosebumps stretching hungrily across every inch of visible skin.

She cleared her throat to speak, unable to tear her eyes away from adonis before her eyes.

"I'll always come to you...Regina," Emma admitted with a smile.

"And I to you Emma Swan," Regina whispered, closing her eyes and fanning her arms out at her sides. "Won't you join me?"

Emma stepped impossibly close to the water, the toes of her boots only an inch from the water which separated the two women.

"It's getting late…" Emma sighed regretfully as the pinkish sky was quickly giving way to indigo.

"Oh, Emma. Time does not exist here. Come, don't be shy," Regina cooed. "The water is exquisite."

"But...it's getting dark, it must be getting late," Emma reasoned.

Regina chuckled, sending ripples along the surface of the water.

"Imagine, Emma, there are no hours or minutes or seconds here. The sky becomes dark because that is simply what it does. Just as the trees continue to produce oxygen which your lungs continue to filter into your blood. It is simply a function; a reason for it to exist."

Emma pondered on this for a moment. Sure, it made sense...kind of. But at the same time, it had to mean something. There just had to be something deeper than doing something over and over, for eternity, just to merely exist. Why exist at all if it serves no greater purpose?

"And if the sky were to uh, stop changing?" Emma asked, kneeling down so that she was closer to the perfection only a few feet from her.

"It won't," Regina answered.

"But...how do you know?"

"The sky is not a living thing. It does not have the conscious ability to think or to feel. And that is why it does it's job so perfectly. It does the only thing it is capable of doing; changing color. The sky will continue to change it's colors; it's inevitable. Just as the sun will surely rise and fall in cooperation with the moon." Regina explained, turning her head to look at the perplexed blonde woman kneeling on the shore.

"I thought the sun made the colors in the sky. And when the sun sets, the colors disappear along with it," Emma said aloud.

Regina swam closer to the edge of the pond. "As do many people. But the sun has a different function entirely, dear. The sun merely provides light."

"And heat," Emma reminded her.

Regina waggled a finger in front of her face. "No, Emma," she chuckled. "Providing heat is the function of temperature."

Emma furrowed her brow, now completely confused. "But if the sun's only purpose is to provide light, why does it set? Why not provide light all the time?"

"Because, dear, there must always be a balance. There must always be light but there also must always be darkness."

"But -"

"Let's talk of this no more, Emma. Come, join me," Regina extended a hand to Emma.

Nodding her head, Emma stood to undress herself, peeling garment after garment away from her blanched limbs. As each garment was dropped to the forest floor, Regina's smile grew wider and wider, unable to hide her happiness at the prospect of stealing Emma...for good.

When the blonde was standing stark naked in the light of the moon, Regina took a moment to appreciate the site before her. Legs, long and lean provided sturdy support for a pleasantly toned midriff. And above that, two perfect globes of flesh that Regina had the strongest urge to caress. Emma gave a small smile before taking her first steps towards the water once more.

"Yes," Regina encouraged. "Come to me."

Emma's eyes fixated on Regina as she lifted a foot in preparation to enter the pond. She gingerly dipped her foot in the water, feeling the coolness wash over her. Her eyes closed, as the faint menthol feeling enveloped her foot.

And then it grew warm, pleasantly so. Emma hummed in appreciation and opened her eyes to see Regina looking so very anticipatory in the water. Emma smiled brilliantly. The water was growing ever warmer around her foot until it became hot. Too hot. She tried to fight through the pain, wanting nothing more than to wrap her arms around Regina and stay there with her until...forever. The intensity grew and grew until Emma could no longer withstand the pain.

She pulled her foot from the water with a yelp and glared accusingly at Regina for a second before inspecting her burned skin. Even in the darkness of night, she could see the skin was red and heat was rolling off of it in waves.

"What the hell? What gives?" Emma shouted at Regina.

But Regina backed away from the shoreline. She had a look of disbelief on her face as her eyes narrowed and she adopted a more menacing look.

"Tainted," Regina spat, as if she had just tasted the uncooked entrails of a cow. "Just like all the rest."

"W-what are you talking about?" Emma asked, still studying her afflicted foot.

"You, Emma Swan, are tainted, dirty, unworthy…" Regina began listing off insults at rapid fire pace. "I should have known. You would be just like them."

Emma stood, snatching up her panties and bra as she was beginning to feel more than a little uncomfortable with the sudden change of events.

"I don't understand!" Emma yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "Tell me what's going on!"

Regina cupped her hands together, gathering water in them, and slowly pouring it down her exposed chest.

"This water is enchanted. It will only allow those that are worthy of my love to swim in it. Otherwise, it will burn." Regina explained. "You harbor so much anger, so much hatred, and self-loathing. Yes, I can see it now."

Emma stared at the brunette with wide eyes, seeming to have forgotten the shirt she held in her hands for the time being.

"Regina, I-"

"Silence!" Regina sneered. "Look, Emma, look at who you are." She instructed, pointing to the surface of the water.

Confused, Emma glanced at the water. The surface was becoming cloudy as lines and shadows and colors began dancing on the surface. She stepped closer, watching as a reflection of herself formed on the water.

"You are pathetic and weak. And it is because of that that you are unwanted. Not even your birth parents wanted you. And like a used condom, they threw you on the side of the road as an infant. Worthless trash that wasn't even worth the monthly check your multiple foster families received for caring for you," Regina's voice was cold and biting.

And Emma felt every word of it. Tears shown in her eyes as every word cut a little deeper into her heart.

"Regina...stop, p-please," Emma whispered.

"So unloved and unwanted that even that thief of a boyfriend threw you under the bus. And so there you sat, rotting in prison as your stomach grew and grew with each passing month. Hating yourself just a little bit more each day."

Tears were rolling freely down the blondes face at the resurrected memories of her past She covered her mouth with her hands in an attempt to stifle the choked sobs in her throat.

"And then you threw away your son just like your parents-"

"I wanted to give him his best shot!" Emma fired automatically, her voice tinged with pain and sadness.

"No, you threw him away because you didn't want to change your life for him. You didn't want to give up your life for him. You didn't want the responsibility of caring for another life. That is why you threw him away. Because you are selfish."

Emma couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to hear it. Regina was wrong. What she had done was a selfless act. Giving Henry up for a chance at a better life was the hardest decision she ever had to make. But it was the necessary decision. She couldn't have provided for him the way a proper family would have been able to. But it's not like she loved the idea of sending him off into the system, as she was far too versed in the horrors of being an orphan. He deserved a chance at a better life.

He deserved a better life.

Selfish? How dare she call that selfish when Emma paid the price for her decision every single day. There wasn't a night that went by when she didn't think of him; what did he look like, was he happy, did he have lots of friends, what was his name? An endless string of questions constantly floating through her brain, day in and day out. It was maddening.

Over the years she learned to deal with it. To only face one question at a time. And as such, Emma had dreamed up a version of her son. He was a happy boy, his name was Chase. And he was smart. He wanted to learn to play the guitar and he also wanted to play football. He had a mop of dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, like his father. But his sarcasm came from her, and nothing pleased her more than that. He would grow up to be successful...handsome...perfect.

But each day that went by, the emptiness within her grew and grew. It became unbearable and yet incurable. How was that selfish? How was is selfish to take on all of this pain and misery for her son to have the chance at a good life?

Her tears of sadness turned to tears of anger as she thought more and more about it. Then there was Regina, swimming lazily about in her stupid fucking pond.

"You can call me selfish and pathetic all you want, Regina. But from where I'm standing, you're no better off than I am." Emma yelled at her, wiping her tears with the backs of her hands. She finished pulling on all her clothes and even got her boots on in record speed.

"How dare you talk to me like that!?" Regina recoiled, spinning around so that she was facing the blonde once more.

"You want to spew all this shit at me and make me look like the bad guy here? Well your enchanted waters have surely done a great job weeding out all the unworthy souls Regina but look where that's left you. Alone. All alone. And I'm sorry for you because I would rather live with my pain than spend the rest of my days alone," Emma's tone was decibels lower than what it had been previously.

Regina however threw her head back in a fit of laughter.

"You think you are so much different than me? Oh, silly little Emma Swan. You are just as alone as I. No one wants you, no one needs you, no one loves you, and no one ever will," Regina purred. "One day you're going to wake up and realize that your existence is pointless and that you're nothing but a burden upon anybody you cross paths with. And do you know what you're going to do?"

Emma just stared, not willing nor wanting to speak with the vile woman any longer.

"You're going to end your pointless life and there will be no one at your funeral. No one will bring flowers to your grave. No one will remember the weak and pathetic Emma Swan," Regina spat out her final words before dipping beneath the surface of the lake and simultaneously erasing the reflective image of Emma from the surface.

Just like that, Emma was alone once more. Held captive by the events that just transpired, she looked helplessly at the abandoned lake. She watched in a daze as the water began to harden, making screechy cracking noises as it did so. The transformation was quick; within moments the cerulean lake that was once so inviting was now nothing more than a huge chunk of ice, cold and hard.

Emma dropped to her knees, her legs unwilling to support her any longer. And she sobbed; chest heaving uncontrollably, pitiful moans falling from her lips, tears staining her face. She sobbed for what felt like the longest time. And when all her tears had been exhausted and her body went limp, Emma felt nothing but anger.

Anger that came from the darkest, untouched corners of her mind. Because when all was said and done, everything that Regina had said was true. And she hated herself for that. She hated herself for being weak and for deluding herself into thinking she wasn't. She had never known the tender warmth of a mother's touch and hated herself even more knowing that her son never received that love from her. She hated herself for what had happened to her in the foster system. She hated what her life was and what it had become. She hated that she hated it. She hated her parents, whoever they were. In this moment, when hate controlled her every thought - she hated everything; the sun, the stars, the moon, and the stupid fucking sky.

Emma slammed her fists against the cold, unforgiving frozen lagoon; desperate to feel something, anything other than this soul-consuming hatred. Over and over she pounded her fists onto the surface until her knuckles were raw and the blood smeared across the crystalline surface.

When her body refused to move and her mind refused to dwell on her pain any longer; her world shattered and everything faded into a dizzying, comforting, salvational darkness.

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**Author's Note: I'm stoked to release the next chapter and I really think you guys will like it. I'm debating on releasing it a bit early instead of waiting. Perhaps you could persuade me to do that...**


	12. It's All About Perception

**Author's Note: Wow you all really surprised me with all the reviews. I was so moved by all the kind words that I wanted to put this chapter out early. I had a lot of fun writing it so I really hope you all enjoy it! I should still be on track with this story so I anticipate being able to put the next chapter up on Sunday. If not then it will probably be Monday. So again, a huge thanks to everyone for all the support you've shown.**

**As always, I own nothing Once Upon A Time related.**

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**Chapter Twelve: It's All About Perception**

Cleaning and bandaging the blonde's hands was a task completed in relative silence. Occasionally, Regina would sneak a glance up at Emma but what she found disturbed her in ways she couldn't express.

With her brows scrunched firmly together and her bottom lip pulled between her teeth, it became increasingly evident that the younger woman was entirely consumed with her thoughts. Regina knew without a doubt that Emma was replaying her most recent hallucination in her mind. But it was the silence that was most disconcerting.

She wanted to ask Emma about it again, as her first request was clearly ignored. But she knew full well that there was a possibility that Emma had seen something so horrific, something so repulsive that it could potentially break her sanity. And to speak of what happened, to vocalize it is to bring it to life. It was for that reason Regina remained quiet as she tended to Emma's wounds.

There was an unmistakable look in her eyes, however, that caused a twinge of unease to invade Regina's mind. If she had truly seen something so irrevocably damaging, Regina doubted the Sheriff would have been able to keep her composure as well as she was. This led her to believe what Emma witnessed was more phantasmagoric than horrific. And that was cause for concern.

"Damn…" Emma breathed, catching the Mayor off guard as she was so wrapped up in her thoughts.

Regina lifted her eyes to meet Emma's, eyebrows arched high in silent question.

"I dunno...it's just you, you're really, really beautiful," Emma whispered then chuckled lightly, shaking her head as though her disclosement should be taken with a grain of salt.

The Mayor said nothing, flicking her eyes back to Emma's expertly bandaged hands before rising to her feet and discarding of the extracted shards of glass in the trash can. She then looked at the mess taking up residence in her normally immaculate bathroom. Fighting the urge to turn around and scream at the younger woman for creating such a disaster, Regina forced a small smile and turned to look at Emma's disheveled form sitting lazily on the toilet.

"You must be hungry, Miss Swan, though I am fairly certain that your lunch is no longer hot," Regina mused, "you should still try to eat."

The quiet compliment to her beauty was the last thing Regina thought would have escaped Emma's mouth. As unexpected as it was, she couldn't help but be slightly endeared by it. However, that endearment was quick to become the catalyst to anger as she felt a slight tug on her heart.

Even more maddening is the reason why those words seemed to have such an effect on her. It had been in the back of Regina's mind practically all morning and she hated to confront the thought. The thought that someone had finally managed to slither through a miniscule crack in her foundation. And the fact that those words had been uttered in honesty and not forced by magic or other means.

It was real.

It was honest.

Emma nodded, wanting to apologize for her earlier remark, but couldn't find it in her heart to do so. It's not as though she were lying. If anything she was more embarrassed at having vocalized her thoughts than anything else. An apology wouldn't fix that. It wouldn't erase those words and thus, Emma concluded, there was no reason to apologize. Because in the long run, it would probably just anger the brunette more. Why? She had no idea. But that's how Regina seemed to work; getting angry over quotidian idioms and frivolous gestures.

"What about the mess?" Emma motioned to the broken glass and blood strewn across the floor.

Regina shrugged. "I'll deal with it later," she dismissed the blonde's concern and crossed the room until she was standing in front of Emma once more. "Coming?" she asked, again with an arched eyebrow of expectation.

The pair sat on the guest bed, eating in an uneasy silence. With each bite Emma took, Regina could clearly hear the unpleasant popping noise Emma's jaw made. She tried to ignore it, but much like the hands on a clock during an exam, it was obnoxiously loud and impossible to ignore.

"Have you ever considered orthognathic surgery?" Regina griped, dropping the plastic fork to into her carryout box. "Honestly," she breathed in irritation.

"What the hell? Did you just make - that's not even a real thing!," Emma protested, knowing all too well that Regina was referring to the noises her jaw made. "Oh, wait…wasn't that a dinosaur or something?"

Regina scoffed. "I assure you it is a very real thing. Anyone with a basic grasp of the English language would know that."

"No one would know what orthog-whatever means, Regina," Emma snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Au contraire, ma chère."

Emma nearly laughed at Regina's flawless mimicry of a french accent. Regina allowed for a brief smile to grace her lips before continuing.

"English is merely a conglomeration of Greek and Latin. Ortho is a Greek word meaning straight and gnathos meaning jawed," Regina explained as though she were speaking to a child about the difference between circles and squares.

Emma nodded with a skeptical look on her face. "Uh huh," she muttered. "You're telling this to the girl who thought circle was spelled s-r-k-l." Emma pronounced each letter individually.

Regina busted out with laughter. "Seriously?"

Again, Emma nodded but this time wearing a brilliant smile. She had come to terms with how ridiculous it sounded. But what did she know? As a child living with a foster family that couldn't give a damn about education, Emma was left with naught but a children's illustrated dictionary to learn from.

"That's nothing compared to my math skills," she quipped.

"Well that certainly explains your excessively erroneous budget reports."

Emma narrowed her eyes, not particularly fond of Regina's insults, but the second the brunette's lips widened into a joking smile, Emma couldn't help but reciprocate.

"Yeah well," Emma paused, searching for a clever comeback, "I may not be able to perfect budget reports but I sure as hell can use use a mean ass quadratic equation in the grocery store."

Regina met her cheekiness with a blank stare.

"Why would you use a quadratic equation in the grocery store?" She asked seeming thoroughly perplexed.

"You know...for uhh...cost efficiency?"

"That makes no sense, dear."

"Yeah I don't even know what a quadratic equation is," Emma shrugged, popping a honey mustard drenched piece of chicken in her mouth.

"Regina?" Emma asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes, Miss Swan?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Fighting the urge to retaliate with 'you just did', Regina resigned herself to nodding.

"Can you tell me about the sky?" Emma worried her bottom lip.

Her rationality begged to ignore the vivid hallucination, knowing that it was nothing more than an illusion meant to break her. But she couldn't get over the nagging feeling that perhaps the pseudo-Regina was right. About everything.

"I'm sorry?"

"The sky, you know, the thing with the sun and shit -"

"I am very well aware of what the sky is," Regina interrupted.

"So tell me about it," Emma begged quite frantically. "Please…"

The desperation in the blonde's final inflection caused Regina's eyes to soften. Yet her keen mind was quick to understand that her outlandish question must, in some way or another, tie into the recent speculum adventure.

"Have you heard the Legend of Caelum?" Regina inquired. The blonde shook her head, just as the Mayor expected. Nevertheless she continued.

"Many thousands of years ago, when the world was in the stages of infancy, there was a beautiful deity named Caelum. Her beauty was unparalleled; all that laid eyes upon her were captivated, instantly falling in love. She was worshipped, exalted, gifted with the most luxurious treasures from all corners of the world."

"Somewhere in the hidden shadows of the world, four hideous witches watched as Caelum received all the riches and love that they themselves desired. And for hundreds of years they watched, waited, their anger slowly becoming to a boil until one day, their hatred and for the beautiful woman grew to be too much. Together, the witches enacted a curse that would banish Caelum from the world."

"Her curse was imprisonment into the drab expanse of space above the earth; destined to wander through the abysmal nothingness without love or adoration, to be forgotten and to live alone for eternity. No one again would set eyes upon such beauty."

"That's...kinda fucked up," Emma interjected. "I mean, that's pretty harsh because some old hags were jealous."

Regina narrowed her eyes, feeling a spark of anger ignite within her veins. Empathy was something the Mayor rarely felt, however as she told the tale of Caelum, she couldn't help but notice some similarities between herself and the deity.

"Perhaps. Though I dare say that you may feel differently had you been forced to look upon and subsequently be denied the thing you most desperately craved," Regina replied a bit more harshly than intended. "For centuries."

Emma shrugged, taking that thought into consideration for a moment before shaking her head and waiting for the brunette to continue.

"The witches curse, however, backfired. They had managed to imprison Caelum in the grey nothingness above them, but Caelum was narcissistic beyond reason. She refused for an end to come to her adoration. And so, she killed herself, expelling her soul out into the world, painting the grey expanse with prism of vibrant colors."

"Thus, Caelum's beauty lived on above them for eternity. According to the legend, the colors we see are Caelum's moods; tumultuous and ever-changing."

Regina concluded her story, clasping her hands in her lap and raising her chin slightly upwards appearing to be satisfied with another display of her perpetual knowledge. Emma's eyes were trained on the floor, her brow creased in thought.

"Do you really believe that?" Emma asked, curious green eyes finding cryptic chocolate.

The Mayor smirked, "Do you?"

"C'mon Regina, you can't answer a question with a question," Emma complained but a small smile formed nonetheless.

"I can and I will, dear," Regina's smile was nothing short of sinister as she leaned in just a little closer to Emma.

"Whatever," Emma's eyes rolled dramatically. She placed the nearly empty carryout container on the nightstand beside the bed, and repositioned herself so that she was sitting cross-legged just a foot or two away from where the Mayor was sitting, all prim and proper with her back straight and ankles crossed.

"It's kinda hard to believe ya know?" Emma said, chuckling slightly. "I mean, c'mon Regina...I can't believe that the sky - the fucking sky - is the like eternal incarnation of some spoiled brat." Pale hands ran through her messy blonde hair almost nervously.

"Then tell me, Sheriff, since you are so knowledgable, what is the sky?" Regina inquired hastily, lips turning up into a snarl as she leaned forward.

She watched as the pupils of those pellucid green eyes expand as they focused on Regina's sudden proximity.

"I, well...I uh I dunno," Emma shrugged. "That's like some science shit."

"Yes."

"Yes, what?" Emma asked, snapping her attention towards the Mayor once more. She had uncharacteristically tucked her legs under her body and leaned forward on her arms, looking graceful and paradoxically dangerous like a deadly lioness stalking her prey.

"I do believe the story about Caelum," Regina admitted with a smile.

Emma laughed. "Well then you, Madame Mayor, need to get your head out of the clouds. Excuse the pun."

"Perhaps, Miss Swan, you should put your head in the clouds." Regina retaliated.

"What, why?"

"Is it so difficult for you to believe in something fantastical? To think outside of that impossibly thick skull of yours? To believe, that thousands of years before we were ever brought into existence, that things were different, powerful...magical…" Regina trailed off.

Becoming startled by the brunette's passion, Emma backed away slightly. "Because this thick skull has never known anything remotely fantastical or magical!" she unintentionally yelled.

Emma hadn't meant to snap at the woman, but she was still feeling rather morose after the encounter with the Regina from her hallucination.

"Regina...I'm sorry, I -"

"It's quite alright." Regina dismissed her concern, pushing the wayward strands of hair back into place.

"So you really believe it?" Emma asked full of sincerity.

"I do."

"Why?"

"Because, as I've previously told you," Regina said, looking Emma in the eye. "Things are not always what they first appear to be."

The blonde thought on this for a moment, turning her attention towards the window,pulling her cheek between her teeth and biting it nervously. Her fingers picking at the sheets as a means of distraction.

"Have I said something to offend you, dear?" Regina inquired, wanting nothing more than to push the blonde's hair behind her ears, but knowing that such a tender act may put the Sheriff in a state of discomfort.

She shook her head, fragments of blonde waving wildly. "No, not - it's just…" Emma sighed, "nevermind."

"Emma…" The words fell too easily from luscious red lips. The warmth of the words even surprised the Mayor herself. Though she found she couldn't pull herself out of this.

She couldn't stop.

Mesmerized.

Her hand instinctively crept forward, slowly, visible shaking until the tips of her fingers passed through the strands of errant blonde that fell in front of her face.

Emma looked up, saccharine orbs shimmering behind a threatening wave of tears. And though she desperately wanted to smile,she couldn't help a frown from tugging at her lips. Refusing to cry in front of the Mayor, again, Emma turned away, pulling herself to her feet and putting some distance between them.

Oh no, - fuck - not another hallucination!

Emma groaned inwardly at the thought. She had barely had anytime at all to recover from the last one. There was no way in hell she could be slipping into another.

"No!" Emma shouted, putting her hands up in front of her face. "No, no, no...this is not happening," she cursed, pulling her lips into a tight line.

Regina raised one of those perfect arches until it was nearly lost behind her hair.

"Miss Swan, stop acting like a child," she scorned.

"No - fuck you!"

"Emma?" Regina's voice grew with concern. She pulled herself into a sitting position, finding herself becoming increasingly alarmed with the Sheriff's outburst.

Emma backed herself against the wall, still holding her arms out in front of her and swinging her head back and forth as if searching for something, anything to protect her from darker woman.

"I don't want to hear anymore. I don't want to hear anymore. I don't-"

The blonde was shaking her head back and forth, hands cupping her ears in a desperate attempt to drown out the hateful words she knew were bound to come.

"Emma," Regina exhaled, desperately trying to make contact with her soberself before she was too far gone. But she was losing the battle quickly as the blondes ramblings only quickened in their pace.

It was going to take more than words to save her from the psychosis of the poison pillaging her body. She had to do something. Soon.

Damn you Emma Swan, must you make everything so difficult!

Regina's jaw set as she ground her molars, both irritated and strangely uncomfortable with how easily her feet carried her across the floor to the woman in front of her. And how, no matter how much she wanted to berate the blonde once more for being so idiotic as to take - and subsequently drink - the contents of a bottle handed to her by some stranger in a goofy hat, she found...she couldn't.

Instead, she found herself standing right before the blonde woman, her fingers entwined with her's, guiding the blonde womans arms around her waist, giving her something to hold onto. An anchor of reality.

The Sheriff gasped at the unexpected, extrinsic display of behavior...snapping her mouth shut as silent tears trailed down her cheeks. Emma's arms froze in place, wrapped around the slender waist of the most powerful woman in all of Storybrooke. And that power didn't stop with political influence. Regina was powerful enough to bring Emma's body to a halt. The only muscle able to perform it's appropriate function was her brain. A brain that chose now, of all times, to not only incapacitate every muscle in her body but to fire off an endless stream of questions that would never have plausible answers.

"Shhh," Regina coaxed quietly, bringing her hands up to hold the Sheriff's tear stained face. "Emma, calm down," she instructed in a hushed tone.

Emma stared with fear and confusion waltzing behind the glistening veil of tears. The deep confusion causing her eyes to quickly dart around the face of the woman in front of her.

"It's me, Emma….just take a deep breath," Regina whispered, smoothing her hair while offering her a reassuring smile.

The blonde woman did just that. She breathed. Inhaling deeply, only to exhale a breath that came out more as punctuated gasps than a long stream of relief.

"R-Regina?" Emma questioned with quivering lips.

The Mayor nodded, smiling, and giving her hair one last stroke before backing away from the blonde.

A thousand questions ran through Regina's mind at a pace close to a million miles per hour. That surge of tenderness, of affection came so suddenly that it took many seconds before Regina could even understand what was happening.

So naturally.

"Prove it," Emma accused. Her mind was twisted into a studding sail tack bend, her stomach fluttered like a hundred butterflies, and her muscles became rigid with anxiety bordering on fear.

"And how do you propose I do that, Miss Swan?" Regina sniped, locking her hands on her hips, glaring accusingly at the Sheriff.

"Tell me…" Emma whispered, "t-tell me wh-what you see when you look at me."

"If you're fishing for compliments I must say Miss Swan, that is an incredibly juvenilistic display of behavior, even for you -"

"Shu-ut up," The blonde groaned in exasperation. "For once in your damn life Regina just...just stop playing politician and answer the damn question."

Regina raised her hands as to gesticulate the incredulity of the blonde's request, but having opened her mouth and finding no words to say, her arms fell limp at her sides, her hands slapping noisily against her thighs.

"Fine, okay," The Mayor relented. "You're like - jesus Emma you're like a god damn bull in a china shop! Stubborn...impulsive like a child in a candy store and relentlessly annoying much like a swarm of flies on a horses ass on a hot summer day. You've got the mentality of prepubescent jock and you have all the grace of a rhinoceros."

The Mayor smiled, and took a step forward.

"But when I look at you...I see a woman that's been shattered into so many pieces you've become a puzzle struggling to solve itself. I see a woman who hides so much behind a mask of false emotions that all she can see in the mirror is a complete stranger. Someone so hurt that you run from the first signs of intimacy out of fear."

Regina closed the distance between them, lowering her voice so that she spoke just higher than a whisper. Her words becoming raw as each one poured from her lips.

"And despite all of this, you are brave; so ready to charge headfirst into any situation knowing the odds may not be in your favor. You're intelligent and...resourceful and observant; even if you pretend not to see what is right in front of you, even when you try to ignore it until it goes away, I know you still see it."

"You've got this passion...this vigor….this...intensity," Regina searched for the right word, only to find that there wasn't a right word to explain what she wanting to say.

The brunette sighed, dropping her hands defeatedly and looking right into glassy chartreuse orbs, "When I look at you Emma, I see myself; a beautifully broken woman, searching for answers, struggling for a sense of belonging, but finding that it always seems to slip right through your fingers, no matter how hard you squeeze it."

Emma didn't think, only reacted on impulse, gripping the darker woman behind her neck and pressing her lips to the Mayor's in a passionate, searing kiss.


	13. One Small Step At A Time

**Author's Note: Okay, so I should've had this up a few days ago but I ran into a few issues. Apart from failing math and drowning in work, I'm having a little bit of trouble coming up with the next parts for this story. I know what I want to happen, but I'm having difficulties getting to that point. *long dramatic sigh***

**As always, I love hearing from you all and will be responding to feedback and messages very soon. Thank you all so much for your continued interest in this story. LOVE YOUUUU!**

**Oh, and I don't own anything Once Upon A Time related :(**

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: One Small Step At A Time**

A surge of emotion bloated the younger womans brain, smushing the tender organ painfully against her skull. It wasn't until the pain became too unbearable, peppering her consciousness with impending blackness, did Emma reluctantly pull away. With eyelids at half mast, Emma inhaled deeply, the scent of Regina Mills filled her nose. A heady scent of bitchiness, betrayal, and just a dash of apple.

"That…" Emma opened her eyes fully. "Just wow."

"Your ability to form complete sentences is truly astonishing."

"Are saying it was bad?" Emma questioned, smirking playfully at the brunette.

"I - no,"

"So it was good then?" A childish smile played on pink lips.

"Miss Swan," Regina warned.

"Angry?"

"Seething."

"Sooo…" Emma trailed off.

"So, what, Miss Swan?"

"That was uhh...awkward?"

"For once you and I agree on something."

Emma brought a finger to her lip absentmindedly tracing the place where Regina's own lips had been just a moment ago. It felt...surreal. Like one of those realistic dreams that leave you questioning if that events that transpired could have been real because god damn if you couldn't feel it.

Tearing herself away from the situation in front her, Regina turned on her heels and without another word walked back into the bathroom and shut the door with a bang.

"Hey what're you doing!" Emma called out, walking up to the door and leaning her ear against it but not tempting to open the only barrier between herself and Regina.

"Cleaning your mess." The response was cold.

"You uhh...want me to help?" Emma asked, shrinking inside her own skin at the way Regina's mood switched so drastically.

Like a fucking light switch. On or off, no in between.

An audible scoff was heard from behind the door before it was wrenched open so quickly Emma nearly lost her balance and struggled for a moment regain her footing.

The Mayor regarded her quite comically as the blondes cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.

"Are you feeling okay, dear?"

"I'm fine, why?" Emma scrunched her face in confusion.

"Well you offered to help clean. I was beginning to worry that you were delirious with the fever again."

"Oh ha fucking ha, Regina," Emma rolled her eyes dramatically and crossed her arms in front of her. "I'm not a complete slob."

Another scoff.

"What!?" The blonde threw her hands in the air. "I'm not!"

"Of course you're not, dear," Regina patted her head condescendingly.

Emma's nostrils flared.

"You're such an ass," Emma muttered, throwing Regina's hand back into her chest.

"You're an ass kisser."

Emma's mouth fell open, flabbergasted beyond imagination. Did Regina god damn Mills just crack a joke? Her jaws opened and closed multiple times yet no sounds fell out. Emma was - in a word - speechless.

Regina smiled triumphantly; glad that she had finally managed to shut the Sheriff up, but also inwardly desiring to take a bath to scrub the crassness of her words from her skin.

Then Emma laughed, not a dramatic laugh or a sarcastic one. It was a laugh that sounded as though it should be shared between two companions innocently antagonizing the other.

A laughter of friendship.

"Sass master, Regina Mills," Emma shook her head, overcome with a feeling that she couldn't put into words.

"I'm sorry, what?" Regina quipped, raising her brows.

"Nothing," Emma laughed, still shaking her head and backing away from the door.

"If you don't mind, Miss Swan, I'd like to get this mess cleaned up before my tiles become permanently stained with your blood."

"Oh, right. Okay, well I'll just uhh...watch TV or something," Emma looked around the room only to find there wasn't a TV available. "Or not."

"There's an entertainment room down the hall on the left."

Emma nodded and turned to leave but swiveled on her heal quite suddenly.

"Oh, by the way, have you seen my phone anywhere?" She asked.

"No."

Regina's response was automatic; short and quick. She worried for a moment that the Sheriff would sense the lie, but Regina kept her face composed showing no signs of deceit.

"Damn, okay, well if you see it lying around let me know, I guess," Emma said then turned and walked out of the room, leaving the Mayor with a bloody mess to clean.

She almost felt guilty about it. Almost. But she did offer to help clean. It's the thought that counts, right?

Emma had barely made it into the hallway before she completely lost it. Inhaling deeply, the blonde leaned against the wall, running her hands through her frazzled hair. She knew it was only a matter of time before she lost her composure. The threat was looming in the corner of her mind since the second she broke away from the kiss. The loss of composure would have happened sooner had she not deflected from the elephant in the room with her childish antics.

"I kissed her…" Emma whispered aloud. It was like one of those unbelievable epiphanous moments. "I fucking kissed her. Jesus christ what the hell is wrong with me?"

Frustration rolled off her in waves as she fought the overwhelming urge to slam her fist into the wall. Repeatedly.

"God how could I be so stupid!" Emma rhetorically cursed herself for her impulsive nature while throwing her head back against the wall. Maybe that would knock some sense into her, though she highly doubted it. That same action had been done at least a hundred times previously and she clearly hadn't learned her lesson because what does she go an do? Oh, right, something impulsively stupid like kissing the god damn Mayor.

Emma's body slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, her legs drawn up to her chest and forehead resting on her knees so that all she could see was the darkness of provided by her defeated position.

Calm down, it was just a kiss.

She scoffed. Calm down? Calm down!? How!? That wasn't just a kiss. Just a kiss is what happens between two random strangers in a bar prior to a regrettable hookup. Just a kiss is something shared between 15 year olds before carelessly tossing their virginity down the shitter. Just a kiss is the last second of engagement and simultaneously the first second of marriage. No, what they had done was not just a kiss.

You're right. It wasn't just a kiss. It was an unexpected, unwarranted, and unnecessary display of misplaced affection. There. Better?

Well, when you put it like that...no! That doesn't make it better at all. It may have been unexpected, unwarranted, and unnecessary but it didn't feel misplaced. Hell, the woman had pretty much just said the nicest things she'd ever heard anyone say. What was she supposed to do? Stand there like a deer in headlights?

No dumbass, you say something!

Right. Because surely an endless string of vocal pauses, expletives, and other non-lexical conversation sounds is the best way to sum up what she was feeling. Emma was never even remotely eloquent with her speech and what would make this situation any different?

So you kiss her?

God damn right! It's the first thing she thought to do. The real cause for concern was why kissing the woman was the first thing on her mind. And how it came so...naturally. And how she would have gladly done it again. And again. And again.

Emma groaned as the realization smacked her in the face with a force comparable to a semi utterly destroying a Smart Car.

"Oh fuck me nine knots north," Emma muttered, throwing her head back into the wall again. "I kissed the Mayor...and I liked it."

Damn it Katy Perry!

Once all the glass had been picked up from the floor, the bloody mess wasn't all that bad to clean. Only an Evil Queen would think such a thing. Anyone else probably would have lost their lunch at the mere sight. But Regina had seen plenty of bloodshed in her days. And one a scale from crushing hearts to slaughtering villages, this little bathroom debacle didn't even get an honorable mention.

Plus, Regina desperately needed to put some space between herself and the blonde. Had she been thinking properly, that kiss would have never happened. No way in hell. The fact of the matter was that she was not thinking properly.

The Mayor's preoccupation with her twisted desires had - whether consciously or not - been influencing many of her decisions and reactions since the formation of her plan just the previous night. But just how far was she willing to take it? Where does one draw the line?

Regina was sure that the Sheriff's overly affectionate behavior was born from a lifetime of never knowing kindness. If she were correct in her assumptions, then gaining Emma's trust would be that much simpler. If all it took were a few words of faux praise then Regina would have no problems whatsoever convincing the blonde that she wasn't the monster everyone thought her to be.

Yet therein lies the danger. If, for some inexplicable reason, Emma became...attached to that facade and god forbid made it into something more than it truly was, then it would only hurt her in the end. Possibly irreparably. Because once Regina got was she desired, she would have no further use for the Sheriff. Then what?

One step at a time. Gaining Emma's trust was the first of many steps to come. And from the way things had played out moments ago, Regina was doing just fine in that department. One small step at a time.

Scrub, scrub, scrub. The repetitive motion on the floor did wonders for the cleanliness of the place. Sadly the same couldn't be said for the Mayor's train of thought. Just as soon as she pushed her worries from her mind, memories of that god forsaken kiss surfaced once more.

It was just a kiss.

Regina knew that to be true. Nothing but an impulsive, misplaced gesture of appreciation. It had taken her by surprise, that much was true. But other than that, it meant nothing. And as much as she wished it could be scrubbed from her mind as easily as the blood came off the linoleum floor, such luck was not bestowed upon her. Nonetheless, she swore to be prepared next time. To be more conscious of her own actions because it never would have happened if she just kept her distance. She should have just let the good-for-nothing-other-than-my-personal-gain woman slide into another hallucination.

Plus it wasn't even that good.

Sass came naturally even to her subconscious. Truth be told, it was pretty damn sloppy. All dried lipped and wet-faced; definitely far from enjoyable. But not exactly bad either. Bad would have been the term to describe Graham's inability to kiss. The man had practically attempted to swallow her entire damn face. Emma's was bad but in a different way; a way of desperation.

The moon was full, hoisted high in the sky; above the clouds and above the trees, smiling haughtily on the lands below. A gentle breeze whispered in the darkness, stirring pillows of stagnant fog into rippling currents.

A chill bit at her cloak, desperate to cause discomfort, and succeeding in doing so as Emma shivered violently and pulled the meager fabric tighter around her. In the distance, there was a light; so warm, so inviting. Her body acted on autopilot, gravitating towards the light emanating through the cracks of a worn and weather beaten structure.

As she came closer, a smell similar to that of the state fair permeated the autumn air. The wind carried the unmistakable sounds of equine braying and a whisper of voices. One male, one female. No, one male and two females. She was still too far to hear the words that were being spoken, but an insatiable curiosity compelled her feet forwards. Crouching low to remain unseen, Emma snuck up to the stable, squatting beneath one of the larger windows.

"Daniel, if you want to have a life together, a family… then, there's one important lesson I can impart on you. It's what it means to be a parent. You always have to do what's best for your children," the aged voice whispered from inside the stable.

"Thank you. I understand. Because that's what you're doing now," the man responded.

From inside the stable, the voices were becoming faint as the sound of shoes on hay strode away from the window. Curiosity was bound to be her greatest undoing, as Emma shifted so that her eyes could just barely take in the scene before her. The weight of guilt pressed down on her as Emma knew she should not be seeing this particular series of events. Taking in the pale faces of a beautiful young woman, the same from her previous dream, as tears of happiness swam in her chocolate eyes and of a man, strong and homely smiling from ear to ear. Suddenly, Emma Swan felt like a ratchet siteen year old boy peeking into the girls locker room.

Peeping Swan.

The older woman, looking poised and confident, smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, it is," she affirmed.

Emma felt like crying at the heartwarming scene playing before her eyes. It was like she was watching a sappy romantic comedy and end was drawing near. When the guy would get the girl - or vice versa - and then roll credits with some alarmingly catchy pop tune that was bound to be overplayed within two weeks time.

And then, all at the same time, a heartwrenching shriek pierced the night along with a grunt of pain, and a sick squelching noise. The best way she could describe it was like when she was a child disemboweling a pumpkin of its innards and squeezing the slimy guts of the vegetable between her fingers.

Emma's eyes focused just in time to see the older woman, a wicked smile plastered on her face, pulling her hand back from the mans chest. And in her hand was a glowing, pulsating mass. The man immediately fell to a heap on the hay as the younger woman, tears now flowing freely down her face, fell next to him.

"No! No, no no no!," The younger woman screamed, cupping the mans face and bringing his crumpled body into her lap.

The beautiful brunette looked up at the older woman. In that moment, she looked so small, so weak, so broken beyond the point of repair.

But the older woman sneered at her as if she were some pathetic mongrel; all skin and bones scouring the gutters for scraps of rotten meat. And then she returned her attention to the throbbing organ in her hand. And she squeezed. The man cried out in agony, his one hand clutching at his chest while the other wrapped around the nape of the young woman's neck.

Then he went motionless, limbs dropping to his side like an anchor to the sea floor. Dust trickled from between the older womans fingers and drifted into the wind; weightless and unimportant.

"Mother! Why have you done this?" The young woman's words barely comprehensible through her tears of anguish.

"Oh, you have to trust me, Regina. I know best. Love is weakness, Regina. It feels real now. At the start, it always does. But, it's an illusion. It fades. And then, you're left with nothing. But power, true power, endures. And then, you don't have to rely on anyone to get what you want. I've saved you, my love."

With those final words, the older woman turned on her heal, leaving behind a dead man and a dying daughter in the stable as she strode pompously back to the imposing castle in the distance.

"I loved him," Came the choked cry from the brunette.

Emma could take nowmore. The hand that was slapped over her mouth as she watched the horrific scene unfold before her was removed slowly. How could someone do something so heinous - so evil - to such a beautiful woman? How could a mother literally destroy her daughter without a care in the world.

The brunette lie there, clutching at the fabric of the man's clothing, her chest heaving and her sobs coming out with such intensity, Emma was sure the young woman would throw up her lungs. She had to do something. Anything. Whoever this woman was, she did not deserve such a cruel fate. No one deserves that.

Willing herself to walk to the entrance of the stable, still unsure of how the hell she was going to explain what she was doing there, Emma tangled her hand in her golden tresses, scratching her scalp as she tried to find the words to make this situation better.

Who the hell was she kidding? No words would ever make this situation better. But she had to do something. The misery pouring off the the brunette was overwhelming. What kind of person would she be if she just walked away?

And so Emma took a few tentative steps into the stable, smelling death and tears amidst the hay and heartbreak. Her presence was unnoticed by the despairing brunette, as her head was buried in the shoulder of her deceased lover.

She lowered herself to the ground in front of the pair, and placed her cold, trembling hand overtop the tear stained hand of the brunettes.

Startled, the young woman's head snapped up; misery swarming in her squalid orbs of sorrel.

"She's wrong you know," Emma offered. When it became clear that the brunette had no idea what she meant, Emma sighed and gripped her hand. "Love never fades, never leaves you empty. Hatred does that, not love."

Emma tried to smile, but one glimpse into those tortured eyes had tears streaming from her own beryl orbs.

She wanted to say more, but when she drew in a breath, a sharp pain resonated in her ribs. Her hand gripped her side at the unseen source of pain. Again, and again, the pain came in sharp pricks; like being a blind nurse attempted to stab the smallest of possible veins.

The sobbing brunette before her fading from existence.

"Comfortable?" A low and familiar drawling voice questioned.

Emma blinked a few times, her mind futilely attempting to remember where she was and more importantly what the hell she had just seen. Her body ached, that much she knew. And once her eyes focused, Emma understood exactly why that was. She was lying, curled on her side on the hardwood floor, staring at the sharp-heeled perpetrator of pain.

"I...huh...what?" She stammered, placing her hands palms down on the floor and hoisting herself into a salvageable sitting position, head bent, eyes focused on sharp heels. "Those hurt you know," Emma complained, nodding her head at Regina's heels.

She then twisted her head around, working out a cramp in her neck - or at least that's what she hoped it looked like. In reality, she was attempting to gather her bearings as her mind replayed the images of a young mans heart savagely ripped from his chest and a young woman howling in heartbroken pain.

"Wipe the drool from your chin, dear, you look like a slobbering mut," Regina spat.

Emma didn't have to look at the woman to know her lips was most definitely curled in distaste. Nevertheless, she - embarrassingly enough - wiped her chin unceremoniously with the back of a fisted hand before pulling herself into a more appropriate sitting position, still refusing to meet the Mayor's scrutinizing gaze, knowing that her cheeks were already flushed with red.

"Well…" Emma shrugged, "I've definitely slept in less comfortable places," she admitted with a nervous laugh.

"No doubt in the backseat of that metal deathtrap you call a car," Regina jeered.

"Actually, Madame Mayor, the backseat of my dub is much more comfortable than a barrel," Emma quipped, finally bringing her eyes to meet the Regina's.

Damn. She couldn't have felt more inferior sitting on the floor at Regina's feet if she tried. Seriously. It was degrading and made Emma want to rise to her feet just so she could get that extra inch of height to force the Mayor to look up to her. Such as it was, Emma just didn't have it in her to issue a silent challenge of will at the moment.

"A barrel?"

"Long story."

"I'm sure it is."

"I was drunk -"

"I didn't ask."

"You implied."

"The only implication I made was a testament to your doltish behaviors."

"My what?"

"My point exactly."

"Regina?" Emma questioned, forgoing their current banter.

"Yes, Miss Swan?"

"Who is Daniel?"

And in that moment, Emma wanted to kick herself in the ass for even bringing up that name. Had it not been for her current sitting position, she would have. Because she had never seen such a look of hatred, hurt, and hostility encompass a single person, ever before in her life. She swallowed hard and for the first time since she's known the ruthless mayor, she felt fear.

Whether that fear stemmed from the look that had taken over the Mayor's typically resolute features that had now dissolved to unbridled rage, or whether it was because somewhere deep inside of her, she worried that perhaps the incident she witnessed in her dream was real. Well, metaphorically of course. After all, people couldn't have their hearts ripped out and crushed to dust. Not unless they existed within Henry's leather bound story book.

But still. The thought remained; could Regina Mills have experienced such a traumatic heartbreak that it would have caused her to lock herself up like Fort Knox? Emma worried her bottom lip as she waited for a response from the brunette. It was then she realized - well, not quite realized but perhaps acknowledged - that for the length of time she's known the Mayor, she ha absolutely no idea about her past.

About her parents. About her home. About her childhood. About anything. It's like Regina Mills was one epic novel written many, many years ago and only the most recent chapters had been transcribed into a discernible language. The rest was just blurred lines and hieroglyphics of a lost life.

The thought alone saddened her. Because as much as she loathed the Mayor for all the things she had done to make her life miserable, Emma found herself curious, delighted almost at the prospect of learning about the woman's past. And yet agitated beyond belief knowing that the equivocating woman would prefer prevarication to elucidation.

For the first time, Regina broke eye contact with Emma. She turned her head, absentmindedly spinning the ring on her finger as she closed her eyes and tilted her head skywards.

"Who did you hear that name from?" she demanded, refusing to look at the blonde woman sitting so content on the floor.

"I didn't hear it from anyone -"

"Don't you dare lie to me, Miss Swan," Regina advised, spinning back around to glare unforgivingly at the incredulous woman.

Emma practically cowered before the brunette, shrinking further into a ball of limbs and hair, as the Mayor stepped closer to her.

"I'm not lying, Regina," Emma forced the words from her mouth.

Great. Just great. How the hell was she going to explain that she saw it; literally saw the incident in her dreams. God, for all she knew it was just an insignificant scenario conjured up by her subconscious - which clearly must have a sick sense of masochistic humor because all that was going to come from this conversation was a slew of insults.

Before Regina had the chance to berate her further, Emma swallowed the lump in her throat, finding her voice once again.

"It saw him in a dream," The words were whispered, barely audible.

"So you assume that I know of this...Daniel of your dreams?" Regina accused.

"Well, yeah...I mean, you were there too…."

"I see."

Regina turned away, wrapping her arms around her chest as if she were her own life preserver in a sea of despair. Of course, she knew that Emma was having dreams about her. About her past. She wanted - no, needed Emma to see it all. But never having spoken of it since the curse was enacted, never thinking that she would have the need to do so, Regina was definitely not ready to face the resurgence of emotions she felt at the mention of Daniels name.

But, it had to be done. She knew this much. She just had to remind herself of the end goal. Emma Swan will break the curse. But she will do it on the Queen's behalf. She will do it knowing why the curse was enacted. And when all is said and done, she will have understood the pain and aching loneliness the Queen had been subjected to for so many years. Yes, Emma Swan would break the curse but only for Regina's benefit. And with Emma's innate magical powers, Regina would reign as Queen once more in this land.

One small step at a time.

Trust.

Earn it.


End file.
